Shimmering Scales
by Shimanishiki
Summary: Lavi never wanted to fall in love, but when he came to the surface with his brother Allen, he fell for the human prince Kanda. Now he must make Kanda love him, or become Tyki's slave forever! KandaxLavi LenaleexAllen. Co-written with Sailorstar165
1. Prologue

**Another fanfic brought to you by the dynamic duo: Me and Shim!**

_We were watching Little Mermaid and discovered something!_

**What, that Lavi and Kanda would make a cute merman and prince respectively?**

_Well, that too. I was actually talking about how Ariel's a whore! Seriously, when she's talking to the statue, she has that "take me to bed" look. And when she was gonna kiss him, she looked evil! It was like "Kiss me or I'll rip your epidermis out!"_

**Epidermis is your skin. Anywho, I'm Sailorstar165**

_And I'm Shimanishiki (call me Shim!)_

_**And we now present "Shimmering Scales!"**_

* * *

"_Hic... sniff..._"

"Lavi, are you okay?"

The small redheaded merboy looked up. "No, I'm not!" he sobbed. "I hate this! I just want to be normal! I don't want this tail!" He slapped his shimmering tail against the stony seafloor. "I hate it..."

The younger white-haired merboy swam closer and sat next to Lavi. "You know you can't not be who you are," he said. "You're Lavi, a Shimmer and my wonderful older brother. You can't deny who you are."

Lavi looked up, his emerald eyes twinkling in the dim light. "But don't you hate me, Allen?"

"How could I hate my own brother?" Allen asked rolling his silver eyes.

"Well, you have to rule the kingdom and all because I'm a Shimmer and can't have any merpups." Lavi looked at his green tail right next to Allen's light blue one. "You'll probably get stuck marrying some crazy hag."

"Aren't I supposed to choose who I give an apple to?" Allen asked, raising an eyebrow. "The whole point to being king is so that I can do whatever I want to."

Lavi smiled and ruffled Allen's hair. "Thanks, bro. Thanks for making me feel better." He looked at the sparkling scales. "Maybe it's not so bad being a Shimmer..."

* * *

**Wow. Short Prologue chapter. Well, here's a longer chapter that actually has some story.**

_And yes, we were making up names for things just looking around the room._

**At the end of the fic we'll have an explanation for terminology. For now, you'll have to live with characters explaining them during the story. Don't worry—there'll be plenty of explanations later on.**


	2. Diamond

"Lavi!"

Lavi turned his head. "Allen! What did I tell you about coming up on my blind spot!"

Allen looked at the eye patch. "Sorry, I forgot," he said awkwardly.

"Ah, it's still pretty new, I guess," Lavi said with a shrug. He then crashed into a rock. "Ouch! Damn it! I'll never get used to this damn thing!"

Shimmers rarely survived to become adults like Lavi. Because of their bright scales, sharks usually caught them long before then. Lavi had lucked out. Though he'd been chased by a shark, he'd managed to escape, though not without losing his right eye.**1**

"So," Lavi said, rubbing his nose where he'd slammed into the rock, "how'd that meeting with Father go?"

"Ugh, he kept trying to get me to marry that one chick."

Lavi motioned with his arms, making a round circle in front of his stomach and puffing up his cheeks, making Allen laugh. "Yeah, that one. But that's not what I came to talk to you about!"

"Then what's up?"

"The humans are gonna be sailing a ship today!" Allen said excitedly.

"What's a ship?" Lavi asked.

"It's how humans get around over water." Allen shrugged. "I wanna see it! Lavi, could you come too?"

"Father won't allow it."

"That's why you gotta come too!" Allen complained. "Father trusts you, especially 'cause you beat up that one shark!"

"I did not beat it up! I ran away like a little guppy, and it just happened to run into a wall." Lavi was getting sick of how far that story had been stretched.

"Tell that to the person having fun making necklaces out of its teeth."

Lavi rolled his eyes. "Not again!"

"Yep. Happy birthday and first Shining," Allen said, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Speaking of which..."

"Not you too!" Lavi cried, blushing. "I have not found anyone I like, okay?! You and Father have to stop pushing!"

"Isn't the big brother supposed to set a good example?" Allen teased.

"Isn't the future king supposed to be less scrawny?" Lavi teased back. He stuck out his tongue and swam away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Allen sped up to catch him. Still, Lavi was the fastest swimmer in the kingdom and beat Allen home by a long shot.

Laughing and panting, they swam inside only to be greeted by a terrible sight. "Father!" Allen cried. "You have to drink something!" He shoved a bottle of spirits into their father's hands.

"Poseidon, I can't believe Father gets drunk by not drinking," Lavi grumbled, slapping his forehead. "Maybe this is why I'm a Shimmer and you're so scrawny."

"Keep laughing. See what happens when I become king," Allen said.

"You can't become king until you get married and Father retires."

"The way he's drinking, I don't think we have too worry to much."

They watched their father chug the bottle. "Yowza! That's good!" He slammed the empty bottle down on the stone table. "So how're my Shimmer and runt?" he asked, running his fingers through his red hair. He said it as if it were a bad thing.

"Well... we were going to check something out tonight," Allen said. "There's something _really_ awesome we want to see."

"Let me guess. You and Lavi found some merfolks to give apples to."

Both of them blushed. "Hell no!" Allen cried.

Their father's tirade was stopped before it even started by one of his diplomats. "King M-Cross," he said, "we need you to check some documents." Cross had recently proclaimed that he be called King Cross rather than King Marian just to piss off all his underlings.

"Coming, coming," Cross said. He turned to his two sons. "Just be careful with whatever you're doing." And just to make sure they didn't mistake his concern for the love that it was, he added, "I wouldn't want our future runty king getting eaten by sharks because of your damned tail."

Now thoroughly offended, they both swam toward the surface. They weren't supposed to go above the waves where humans could spot them, but rules were meant to be broken.

"Holy cow!" Lavi shouted over the rush of waves. The cold night air stung his face and the drying salt water was starting to make him itch. "There's a whole lot of nothing up here! What's so great about the surface, anyway?"

"Lavi, we're in the middle of the ocean," Allen said, rolling his eyes. He stared around, looking for the ship. When he spotted the huge, looming blob coming their way, he signaled for his brother to follow. They went to the one side where a rope hung for them to haul themselves up on.

"Wow, you're stronger than you look," Lavi commented from below Allen. Allen smacked him with his tail and sent him back into the deep so he'd have to climb back up all over again.

They both reached the deck and held onto the side. On board was a huge party with humans dancing and singing drunkenly. "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts!" sang one.

Lavi glanced at his brother. "What're coconuts?" he asked.

"How should I now?" Allen replied.

"You know, these humans are ugly and completely uninteresting. Let's go play with Timcanpy. Bet he's lonely by now."

"They aren't ugly," Allen replied, his eyes drinking up one person in particular.

Confused, Lavi leaned really close to see the same view as Allen. Across the deck was a girl with long silky black hair wearing a deep purple party dress. Lavi didn't see what was so great about her. Yeah, she was pretty, but he didn't see anything in her laughing face. _'Course, that's probably 'cause I'm a Shimmer,_ Lavi thought, searching the deck for something more interesting to waste time looking at while Allen fantasized about the crab-legged girl.**2**

That's when he saw him. Leaning against one of the ship's railings was a tall man with dark hair and darker eyes. He seemed to be detached from the party, unlike the girl Allen was drooling over. He frowned in Lavi's general direction, and Lavi dived down so that he wouldn't be spotted. Allen, on the other hand, was still watching the human girl.

"Get down, guppy!" Lavi snapped, tugging Allen lower.

"I've seen that girl before," Allen muttered dreamily.

"Not now, you idiot!" Then Lavi slapped his forehead again. "Allen, you haven't... _fallen_... for her, have you?" When Allen nodded, Lavi was sorely tempted to take his brother by both shoulders and shake him. He would have, too, if they weren't clinging to the side. "Moron! You can't give her an apple or anything! She's human!"

And yet... Lavi had felt his heart skip a beat when the man frowned at him. It wasn't from fear of being found, but... Lavi felt the color rising in his cheeks.

"You okay?" Allen asked.

"I don't know," Lavi said, letting go of the side and diving back into the water.

Allen watched a moment, but turned back to his beauty. He lowered himself slowly until he could no longer see her before dropping back into the waves.

* * *

Kanda, meanwhile, was still staring at the opposite side of the ship. He'd just seem a red mop of hair next to a white mop. _Please tell me I just saw rats,_ he thought. But he knew that couldn't be. They were too big to be rats, and he could have sworn he saw human features. _They can't be stowaways. We're too far from shore for them to have hung on that long._

"Propping up the railing?"

Kanda frowned and turned to Lenalee, the girl Allen had been staring at. "I thought I saw something on the side of the ship."

"Have you been drinking?" Lenalee asked, peering up into his face. "Come on, it's your party! You have to have some fun, Birthday Boy!"

Kanda brushed Lenalee's stray bangs out of her face and pulled her into a hug.

"How long do we have to keep up this stupid charade?" Lenalee muttered into his chest.

"As long as we're in public unless you want to be sent home."

"Oh dear God, kill me now," she muttered back.

He cupped her face in his hands, making her blush. Gay or not, he could be really romantic. "I'll send you back now if you keep this up."

No one else saw her glaring at him. The others were all caught up in how romantic the situation seemed. "Wait 'till the wedding night, you two!" cried one drunk sailor.

"I says we gives them a room!" shouted another tanked shipmate.

"Cut it out!" shouted Kanda's personal assistant, Arystar Krory. He was tall with dark hair and pointed ears. The maids often mistook him for a vampire whenever he wandered the halls at night. Who started that comparison, though, was a mystery. "Your Excellency, I apologize for their rudeness. I shall make sure—"

"No need," Kanda said calmly. He slipped his arm around his fiancé's waist. "They're just drunk. They're punishment will be in the morning."

Lenalee leaned up against him and pinched him hard as payback for putting his arm around her. In response, Kanda squeezed his hand around her side, digging his nails in slightly. Neither made a sound and just continued smiling.

There was a crash in the sky, making everyone look up. "Thunder!" shouted one crewmember. "I told ye bringin' a woman on board was bad luck!"

The waves were getting rougher, knocking the ship hard to the side. Kanda pushed Lenalee away so she was a safe distance from the rail. Of course, he was too close and was shoved over with the next crashing wave.

The shock of the cold water was enough to knock him unconscious.

* * *

Lavi spun around and saw a dark figure sinking in the waves. He recognized him instantly as the man he'd been watching on deck and swam as quickly as he could toward him.

"Lavi! The waves are getting too rough! We have to get deeper before we're pushed too far from home!" Allen called.

"We can't just leave him!" Lavi shouted back. He forced his way to the surface, pushing Kanda up first so that he could get air. "Allen! How far is it to land?"

"Follow me!" Allen said, splashing beneath the waves. Lavi followed suit, coming to the surface every few feet so Kanda could breathe.

"We need to go below," Allen shouted at the top of his lungs. The storm and waves were drowning out his voice, but Lavi was somehow able to hear. "There's a cave that opens up somewhere!"

Lavi nodded and dived. He swam as quickly as he could, knowing that the man's life was in his hands. They entered the cave, and Lavi put on an extra burst of speed. After what felt like hours, they broke the surface in the dark cave.

Lavi immediately dragged the man to the damp cave floor. There was some sand farther up, but it was too far for Lavi to reach.

_He's not breathing!_ Lavi thought as he laid the man out. "Allen! What do I do?"

"Give him air!" Allen replied.

"How?"

"I don't know!" Allen cried, casting around his brain. He'd never been in this sort of situation before. "Try blowing into his mouth!"

"How would that help?"

"Humans breath with their mouths!" Allen said uselessly. "If you force him to breathe, he should be able to breathe on his own!"

Lavi nodded. He wasn't coming up with any better ideas, after all. Nervously, he pressed his lips against the man's mouth and lifted him up a bit so he wouldn't have to bend down so much.**3** He breathed into his mouth. He pulled his lips away. The man still wasn't awake. "It's not working!"

"Try again!" Allen said. "I saw his chest rise!"

"Why me? You do it!"

"You're the Shimmer, and he's a guy!"

Lavi cursed at Allen and turned back to the man. He repeated what he did before, and heard Allen say the man's chest had risen again. The third time, he felt hands wrap around him, pulling him closer, turning it into a hard kiss.

Eyes wide, Lavi pulled away and dived back into the dark water.

* * *

Kanda felt warm lips against his and breath enter his mouth. He was semi-conscious but thought he was dreaming. He lifted his heavy arms and pulled whoever it was closer. He then released the other person and started coughing and spluttering. He spit out the seawater and searched the darkness for the person who'd been giving him CPR.

_Was I dreaming?_ He rubbed his throat. Then he noticed the pattern in the thin layer of sand. There were drag marks around him, which he decided were from him getting dragged up, but the marks next to him he couldn't explain.

There were hand prints and drag marks that weren't his. Curious, he placed his hand over one. His hands were slightly smaller, but only slightly. Then he heard two splashes and turned toward the noise. He could have sworn he'd just seen a green, sparkling fish tail!

"I must have swallowed too much seawater," Kanda said to no one in particular.

* * *

"That was great, Lavi!" Allen cheered as they swam back to deeper water.

Lavi, meanwhile, was blushing. _That was my first diamond._

"Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" Lavi snapped back to reality. "Yeah, I'm fine."

It clicked in Allen's head. "You like him!"

"So? You like that other human!"

"I wasn't going to pick on you about it," Allen said defensively. "You _are_ a Shimmer, after all. It's just I thought you were going to be an old maid before you fell in love."

"Allen, old maids are old, unmarried _women_."

"Well, you look like one!" Allen swam for his life, but he didn't have to. Lavi was just sort of drifting after him.

* * *

**1 We actually checked the manga on this one. NO COMPLAINTS FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY!**

**2 Lavi sees human legs the same way he does crab legs—way too small to support their bodies.**

**3**_ Well look at that! Lavi's unwittingly giving him CPR the proper way!_

Okay, so we're co-writing this if you couldn't tell. ...For more co-written LavixKanda hilarity, check out "Dirty Little Secrets" on my account. (Sailorstar165)

_Ariel's a slut, Lavi's just cute._

**So, do you still wish you were Lavi?**

_As long as there aren't any torture devices, I'm good._ _Just need to get Kanda drunk and blindfolded. Score!_

_**See you all next chapter!**_


	3. Silent Meeting

The next morning, Lavi was poking at his breakfast absentmindedly. He was staring off into the distance and hardly noticed his father watching him. The only thing on his mind was the prince.

"Lavi!" Cross shouted. When he didn't get a response, he shouted louder. "Answer your God damn father, Lavi!" He chugged the rest of his bottle of spirits and then chucked it at his son. It beamed Lavi in the side of the head, but the Shimmer didn't notice.**1**

Irritated, Cross turned to Allen. "Who is he fantasizing about?" he asked.

Allen choked on his clam. "What? I don't know what you're talking about!" He said it quickly and then shoved another clam in his mouth to avoid anymore questions.

"Oh please. I'm drunk, not stupid." Cross watched Lavi poke at his food for a little bit longer, then shouted. "Hey, Dickhead!"

The diplomat from the day before entered the room. "Yes, Your Majesty?" he asked, annoyance apparent in his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"Gather all the Shimmers in the kingdom."

The diplomat raised an eyebrow. Cross gestured to the still daydreaming Lavi. The diplomat nodded and did as he was told.

An hour later, all the Shimmers (all six of them) were present. Cross was sitting on his throne, polishing his ray gun.**2** Timcanpy the gold blowfish was sitting in Allen's lap. Allen was glancing nervously around the room, looking for an escape route for when his father realized none of the Shimmers here was the one Lavi had fallen for. Lavi, on the other hand, was sitting in his chair, absentmindedly flicking his tail from side to side.

"So, which of you has caught my son's eye?" Cross asked, fingering his gun.

All the Shimmers gulped and looked at each other for the culprit.

"Well?" Cross was getting irked by how everyone was being slow to answer him that day. "Don't be shy. I won't hurt you." He cocked his gun.**3**

The Shimmers went pale. One managed to swim forward a little and spoke for all of them. "None of us have as far as we know, Your Majesty, but we would love to give him an apple..."

Cross frowned. "Then you're all dismissed." When they all left, he turned to Allen. "If it's that God damn sorcerer, I swear I'll—"

"It's not Tyki!" Allen said quickly. He slapped his hands over his mouth, making Timcanpy bounce out of his lap.

"Then was it a visitor from another kingdom?" Cross turned to his diplomat, ready to make the order.

The diplomat nodded. He already knew what was coming.

Allen breathed a sigh of relief. There were twelve other kingdoms in their ocean alone, and there were plenty of Shimmers that traveled. Of course, the sigh didn't escape Cross's notice.

"You're protecting whoever it is," Cross stated flatly.

"No I'm not!" Allen squeaked.

Cross came a little closer, his gun at the ready. "Is that your final answer?"

"Y-you don't scare me, Father." Allen straightened up, trying to look threatening. That was hard, considering he was a head shorter than Cross.

"You wanna bet?"

Allen flinched away from his father. Ray guns stung like hell, but they weren't lethal. He really, _really_ didn't want to have to suffer through that.

At that moment, Timcanpy bit Lavi's tail hard. Lavi let out a yelp and lifted his tail to glare at Tim as he dangled from it. He then realized that Cross was bullying his brother. Again. "Father, leave Allen out of this. He has nothing to do with it! If you have any questions, you should ask me!"

Cross turned away from Allen. "All right, then. Who is it you're so obsessed with?"

"I'm mad at you, so I'm not telling." Lavi turned away defiantly and swam off.

Cross watched him leave and then turned back to Allen, who had disappeared along with Timcanpy. Annoyed with his guppy of a son, he swam back into his private chambers.

* * *

"So, Allen, where are we going?" Lavi asked, following his brother out of the palace.

"We're going to get you your man," Allen said simply. "Tyki owes me a ton of favors from all those bets he lost. He'll be able to do something for us, I'm sure."

Tyki was a sorcerer who got himself banished. His trade was his magic, and he was willing to sell his powers to anyone. The thing was, he didn't charge pearls like normal shops. He charged things too precious to name for magical feats only he could accomplish. Still, he wasn't banished because he ignored the merperson money system. The reason was because he'd tried to assassinate the king as part of a job. To this day, no one trusted him. Only Allen ever talked with him, and that was to cheat him at cards.

The two brothers swam for what felt like hours. Lavi shuddered as they left the underwater fields he knew and entered a territory he didn't recognize. Graying coral replaced the bright fish and plants. Cliffs replaced the valleys. As far as Lavi could tell, the whole ocean was completely empty.

The cave Tyki lived in was farther in the gloom. The murky water was making Lavi gag, but Allen didn't seem bothered by it. Lavi hadn't realized how used to all this Allen was until then.

"Tyki!" Allen called into the dark abyss inside the cave. "Tyki! You in there?"

"Yes," a voice called back. "What, you want to wipe the floor with me again?"

"Nah, I'm here to collect on all those bets." Allen grinned as Tyki swam out of the gloom. "So, could you whip up a couple potions for me?"

The dark-haired merman raised an eyebrow. "Depends. What kind of potions and for who? I'm not about to give any magic to your Shimmer friend there. He'll have to pay for himself."

"You can't make me and Lavi human? Seriously, you owe me a lot."

"Correction: I can make _you_ human, but Lavi here'll have to pay for himself." Tyki came closer into the light, and Lavi's eyes widened at the sight of sparkling scales. "So, why do you both want to go and give up your fins, hm?"

"That's a secret," Allen replied. "So, what would Lavi have to pay?"

Tyki turned and signaled for Allen and Lavi to follow. "Let's talk inside, shall we? Arguing out the payment could take a while if you're determined."

Lavi glanced nervously at Allen and was surprised to see him cool as a sea cucumber. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"You don't want to go to the human world and talk to the man you like?"

Lavi's eyes widened. "He... can make it so I can meet him? For real?"

Allen took Lavi by the arm and pulled him into the gloom. Lavi couldn't see anything for a few minutes until the walls glowed. Lavi was left speechless.

"Like them?" Tyki asked. "They're butterfly fish I bred special to glow." He stopped in a small room and sat in a stone chair. "Now, about your price," he said to Lavi. "If I like the cause, I might lower it a bit for you. So, why is it that a Shimmer would want to be human?"

Lavi glanced at his brother. "Should I tell him?"

Allen nodded. "It helps him pick the right spell for the job. Besides, he won't tell anyone. He keeps it confidential, too, even if you don't take his deal."

Lavi took a deep breath. "I want to be human... so I can meet him..."

"Ah, so you're in love," Tyki said with a small smile. "All right, this makes life a lot easier. I can give you a pretty powerful spell, but there are a couple details you have to be aware of."

"What's the spell?" Allen asked.

"I'll turn you both into humans. Lavi'll have to get his man to fall in love with him. If that person falls in love with someone else, Lavi will turn back into a merman."

"That's easy!" Lavi said with a grin. "I'll just tell—"

"You won't be telling him anything," Tyki said, his smirk not leaving his face. "The price is your voice. And Allen, you can't tell Lavi's little prince anything either. You blab, and you'll both go back to being merpeople on the spot."

Allen nodded. He'd read a few books on magic. There was no going back on a contract that was made for a spell. "Will Lavi get his voice back if he fails?"

"Of course," Tyki said, his smirk getting bigger. "But you'll both have to be my slaves forever. My... mates... in fact."

Allen felt himself turn pale. "I'm not a Shimmer!" he squeaked. "I..." He knew there was no arguing with a magician. Their discussion was a contract. Their words were their bond.

"I won't mess up," Lavi muttered. "I'm sorry, Allen, but this is my only chance..."

"It was my idea to come here," Allen said. "Take the deal if you want to, Lavi. Go for it, I don't mind."

"Thanks," Lavi said. He turned back to Tyki. "I'll go along with your deal, but only if Allen doesn't have to be your slave."

"Not going to happen," Tyki said, crossing his arms. "Allen's only cheated his way through enough card games to get the spell for free. He still has to suffer the consequences if you screw up. Tell ya what," Tyki leaned forward, "I'll turn your little pet into something that can survive on land and give you something to help understand humans. How's that offer?"

"What makes you think I was cheating?" Allen interrupted.

"You had to be cheating! I was cheating too!"

Allen smirked. "Well, you must be a horrible cheater if you managed to lose all those times to a little kid."

Tyki sighed in exasperation. He'd just admitted to having tried to swindle Allen the whole time. "So? What's your point?"

"One more thing! Give me something to understand Lavi if he's going to have to lose his voice."

"Fine! Telepathy, but that's it!" Tyki was getting irritated now. "Take it or leave it!"

Lavi's eyes widened. He'd always known Allen had a dark-side, but he'd never actually seen it until then. Allen had gotten him a really good deal. "I accept your offer," he said quietly.

Tyki sighed and swam over to the makeshift shelves. He pulled ingredient after ingredient off and threw it into the pot. "Oi! Tease!" he shouted to a glowing butterfly fish on the ceiling. "Get Lavi's voice, will ya?"

The fish swam down and fluttered in front of Lavi a few moments. It was like it was waiting for Lavi to do something.

"Lean your head back, stupid, so he can reach your throat." Tyki was mixing some of the ingredients and then going back to his supplies for more stuff to throw in the potion.

Lavi did as Tyki told him. He leaned his head back and felt something pierce his neck and rip something out. Shocked, he grabbed his neck, but there was no wound. He tried to ask what had just happened, but no sound came out. He stared around for the Tease and saw it going to Tyki with something sparkling in its mouth. _Is that my voice?_

"I need blowfish," Tyki muttered. He looked straight at Timcanpy for a moment.

"You're not getting him!" Allen cried, hiding the fish behind his back. "Find some other victim!"

"I know, I know," Tyki sighed. He opened a cabinet and pulled out a cage containing a rather fat blowfish. He tossed the cage in the pot too.

Allen shielded his pet from the sight. "Don't look. It's too horrible."

There was a puff of smoke that engulfed both Allen and Lavi. "Okay, you have three hours to get your asses to the surface," Tyki said. "Once the time's up, you turn into humans whether you're ready or not."

Allen nodded and grabbed Lavi's arm. "Thanks, Tyki! You won't be seeing us again for a while!"

"One more thing," Tyki called before, the others could leave. "Once Lavi's prince falls in love with him, you both will be able to return to being mermen at will. Same with Lavi's prince and whoever you fall in love with," he said to Allen. "Good luck, you'll need it!"

Both brothers rushed out of the lair. _"I wonder where Allen's taking me,"_ Lavi thought.

"I'm taking you to my hideaway," Allen replied. "I have a ton of human coverings and stuff we'll need."

_"How'd you know what I was thinking?"_

"I could hear ya. Tyki's really thorough when it comes to magic deals," Allen replied. They stopped in front of a small cave with a boulder in front. It looked like a collapsed pile of rocks, but when Allen opened it up, Lavi saw many human things.

_"Where'd you get all this stuff?"_ Lavi asked, staring at all the wonders in the cavern. There were candles and books and toys and anything else you could imagine. Of course, Lavi had no idea what any of the objects were.

"Ship wrecks, mostly," Allen said with a shrug. He went over to a wooden closet and started digging through the stuff in it. He pulled out some of the clothes. "Okay, now to get to the surface." He threw the shirts, pants, and undergarments into a bag and grabbed Lavi's wrist.

They swam as fast as they could to the surface, but they were deep and far from shore. They could see the surface a few feet above them when Lavi felt strange. His tail was tingling, and then there was a sharp pain as it split in two. He let out a gasp, and a stream of air bubbles escaped his mouth. He started swimming faster, his new legs aching with the sudden exertion.

Both broke the surface and gasped for air. Lavi's eyes stung with the salt water, a sensation he wasn't used to feeling. He looked at his brother, who seemed to be having similar problems. _"Now what?"_

"Now we get dressed. Humans wear clothes."

_"What are clothes?"_

Allen sighed and dug through his bag. "Just follow me. I'll help you." He swam to shore and after making sure no one was around, climbed onto the sand. He signaled for Lavi to come too, and then threw on some of the clothing he'd packed.

Lavi needed all the help he could get. He couldn't figure out which holes were for what appendage, especially now that he had a few more body parts to worry about. _"This is stupid!" _he shouted mentally. _"Merpeople don't wear this stuff. Why should humans?"_

"They're a little more modest than merfolk," Allen replied, helping Lavi the best he could.

_"They shouldn't be,"_ Lavi grumbled.

"They also have... parts... merpeople don't have," Allen reminded his brother. Satisfied they were dressed properly (they were too, except for missing shoes and socks), Allen tried to stand up. First time, he fell over. Second attempt went a little better, but when he tried to walk he fell flat on his face. The third time was the charm. He was on his feet and able to walk around. "Lavi! You gotta try this!"

Lavi nodded and tried to stand as well. Unlike Allen, he couldn't get the hang of his new legs even after seven attempts at standing. _"Don't these dumb things come with instructions?"_

"Lavi, even Tim's gotten the hang of it," Allen said, pointing at their former blowfish pet. Tim now had wings, four legs, and a tail and was happily fluttering around.

Lavi raised an eyebrow. _"He looks like a fluffball without the fluff."_

Allen shrugged. "I think he looks kind of cute like this, actually." He looked at Timcanpy, who seemed to be gagging on something. "Tim! What's wrong?"

Timcanpy opened his mouth and spat out as small book into Allen's hand. Allen opened the book and grinned. "Sweet! This must be the mer to human dictionary Tyki promised us." Allen glanced through it quickly and then handed it back to Timcanpy to hold on to. See, Tim was a magic blowfish created by Cross. He had another dimension inside of him so that he could act as a bag when needed.**4**

Lavi rubbed his ankle and flinched. _"Is it supposed to hurt like this?"_

"You hurt yourself already? For the love of Poseidon, Lavi!" Allen slapped his forehead.

"Is someone there?"

Lavi looked up, and Allen spun around really fast. Of course, Allen lost his balance in the loose sand and fell on his butt.

The girl from the ship stood there, watching them. "What are you doing out here so late?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Lavi rolled his eyes when he saw Allen blush. Of course they had to run into _his_ crush first.

"We... uh... Well..." Allen stuttered, trying to think of an excuse on the spot. "See, we were on a ship, and Lavi, my brother, leaned too close to the edge. He fell in the water and I jumped in after him."

"So that's why you're both soaked?" The girl smiled. "It was awfully brave of you to go after your brother, Mr..."

"Allen," Allen said quickly. "Just call me Allen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Allen." The girl stepped closer and held out her hand for Allen to kiss. "My name is Lenalee Lee."

Allen took her hand and kissed it, just as he'd seen plenty of humans do in his ventures to the surface. "The pleasure's all mine, Miss Lee."

"Just Lenalee's fine," she said, blushing. "So, Allen, is something wrong with your brother?"

Allen glanced at Lavi, who was still poking at his ankle. "I think he sprained something," he said lamely.

"That isn't good at all! If you'd like, you could come with me, and I'll get someone to look at it."

Allen nodded. "Thank you, Lenalee." He bent down and threw Lavi's arm over his shoulder. Once he was balanced with Lavi hanging on for dear life, they started up the beach.

After a few minutes of dragging Lavi along, Allen ventured to ask, "How much farther?"

"Not much," Lenalee replied. She pointed at the lone building up the hill.

Allen and Lavi's jaws dropped. The building was a giant stone castle. _"Holy sea cows!"_ Lavi cried. Allen could only nod.

"You... live here?" Allen said in awe. The castle was even bigger than theirs back home.

"Well, it's my cousin's castle," Lenalee admitted. "I've just been staying with him a little while. Anyway, you're welcome to come inside."

Inside, the castle was bright and comfortably warm. Lenalee led them into a small room off the side. "Sit him down there," Lenalee said, gesturing to a chair. She stared at Allen a moment, making him feel a little self-conscious. "What _is_ that thing on your head?"

"What, Tim?" Allen asked, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm not sure what he is. He _was_ a blowfish."

Lenalee giggled. "Really? How curious!" She stepped out of the room a moment and caught one of her maids. "Please get the nurse," she said with a smile.

The maid nodded and returned a few minutes later with the nurse. "Miss Lee, are you injured?" she asked.

"No, no, but he is." Lenalee nodded to Lavi. "It seems he's sprained his ankle. Could you take a look?"

The nurse raised an eyebrow but didn't question Lenalee. She knelt down next to Lavi and gently took his swollen and bruised ankle into her hands. She poked at it, causing Lavi to flinch in pain. "It's a mild sprain," the nurse declared. "He should stay off of it a few days. Wrapping it would help, too. Stay here while I get a some bandages."

_"Like I have anywhere else to go,"_ Lavi grumbled miserably.

The nurse left and came back with some bandages. She bound his ankle tightly, making Lavi wince. "Stay off of it as much as you can, sir," the nurse said. "If you do that, it will be healed in a couple days."**5**

Lavi nodded and, forgetting he'd lost his voice, tried to thank her. It was a stupid move on his part, and he quickly shut his mouth.

"Is something wrong?" the nurse asked. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

Allen interrupted. "Lavi lost his voice," he said quickly. "I think he was trying to thank you." Lavi nodded in agreement.

"Lost his voice?" Lenalee repeated. "How?"

Allen shuffled his feet. He hadn't thought up a believable reason for his brother's muteness yet. "Um... The doctor back home said it was mental trauma?" Lavi bobbed his head encouragingly. It was a good enough explanation.

"My, how horrible!" Lenalee cried. "Head nurse, have you ever heard of something like this?"

The nurse nodded. "I've heard of this happening, but I'm not a psychologist, so I can't help you with the details. My guess is that he lost it while experiencing some extreme trauma." She glanced at Lavi's eye patch. She turned to leave and paused. "Hello, Your Highness," she said, curtsying.

Lavi's eye widened as he saw his crush enter the room. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst. Allen noticed the change that came over Lavi and put a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Good evening, head nurse," he said. His dark eyes fell on Lavi, making his heart skip a beat before pounding even faster. "And you two are...?"

"I'm Allen, and this is my brother Lavi," Allen replied, bowing his head.

"This is my cousin, Yuu Kanda," Lenalee said when he didn't respond.

Kanda was too busy staring at Lavi. The boy looked so familiar somehow... "Do I... know you?" He shrugged and turned away. "No, I think I'd remember someone like you."

Once he was out of the room, Lenalee rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him," she said. "He didn't mean to be rude. It just came out sounding that way. So, anyway, where are you both staying?"

Allen flushed. "Well, um... This trip was a bit sudden. We didn't really plan where we'd be staying. We thought we'd figure it out when we got here."

_"Moron!"_ Lavi cried. _"You don't know where we're staying? I thought you had a plan!"_

Allen ignored his brother's mental barrage. "We also lost our money on the ship. It was headed for Africa after this stop, so..."

"That's awful!" Lenalee gasped. "I'm sure Kanda wouldn't mind if you stayed with us for a while. At least until you get in contact with your family."

"I'm afraid we're the only family we have," Allen said sadly. "That's why we came here. We were going to see if we could make our way here rather than back home. You know, make a new start."

_"Nice sob story. Chicks dig sob stories."_ Lavi commented.

"Then your welcome to stay with us from now on," Lenalee said. "I'm sure Kanda would love some fresh faces around here." Lenalee smiled. One thought went through her head: _Maybe one of them would fall for Kanda and I'm free from having to be engaged to him._

"Thank you very much!" Allen said, bowing.

"Don't mention it," Lenalee replied. She giggled as Lavi's stomach growled loudly. "I guess you both would like something to eat?"

Both Allen and Lavi nodded and followed her to a small dining room. The table was small, only big enough for six people at the max. "You both sit here, and I'll get the cook to whip something up for you."

_"We owe her big time,"_ Lavi commented. _"Allen?"_ He slapped his forehead. Allen was watching Lenalee as she walked out of the room. _"Allen, stop drooling over her._"

"If you can drool over Kanda, I can drool over Lenalee," Allen replied, blushing.

Lenalee returned a few moments later with a servant carrying a platter. "I hope you guys don't mind leftover chicken and potatoes from dinner," she said, sitting down. The servant placed a plate in front of Allen and another in front of Lavi.

"May I get anything for you?" the servant asked Lenalee.

"Just some tea," she replied before turning back to Allen and Lavi. "So where are you both from?"

"Someplace far away that you've never heard of," Allen replied quickly.

"Well, I'm from far away. Maybe I've heard of your country."

"It's a really, _really_ small country. So small, in fact, it's not on any map." This was only half true, so Allen hoped she'd buy it.

Lenalee frowned, but then started laughing. "Lavi, you have gravy on your face."

Lavi looked up from the chicken leg he was devouring hungrily. He felt Allen elbow him hard in the side and looked.

Allen gestured to the napkin, which Lavi used to wipe his mouth. Allen then made a point of picking up his fork and eating with it, hoping Lavi would realize he needed to use the silverware rather than his hands.

Lavi caught on and fumbled with the fork. He must have done a good enough job because Lenalee didn't make any comments after.

After they finished their meal, Allen and Lavi were taken to a large bath. "Well? Which of you wants to take a bath first?" asked the servant.

Allen scooted away. "Lavi first," he said, embarrassed.

_"Allen, what's a bath?"_ Lavi asked, but was pulled into the bathroom before Allen could reply.

Lavi loved the bath and took to it like a fish to water.**6** After an hour of splashing in the warm soapy water, the servant had him get out and change into some clean pajamas. Another maid received him outside the room and led him to his room.

"Good night, sir," she said, curtsying. "Someone will come in the morning to help you get to breakfast."

Lavi grinned and nodded in thanks. He flopped onto the bed and smiled. _Comfy,_ He yawned loudly. _I wonder... I wonder if I can get Kanda to even look at me...'_he thought before drifting off.

* * *

**1 We seem to like injuring Lavi...**

**2 Yes, merpeople have ray guns. They shoot jellyfish stingers!**

**3**_ Cross is an overprotective father in his own way._** He redefines overprotective!**_ Just like my dad!_

**4 Yes, Tim's a **_**magic**_** blowfish. XD**

**5 Shim's taking medical. She knows **_**all**_** about injuries.**_ I'm in medical! I'm in medical! Oh, and I've had experience._

**6** _Joke!_

_I had pretty much no part in this chapter, guys._

**Shim, you liar. You had quite a bit of a part in this. You helped with a couple of ideas ahead of time. Like Cross with his gun. :) Anywho, thanks for reading!**

_Coffee..._

**Shim stayed up and saw the Twilight premiere, so she's running on caffeine for the moment.**

_Staying up with three and a half hours of sleep, going to school, then hurting my ankle. I think I'm gonna die..._

**Yep. Nice job, Lavi. Anywho, see you all next chapter.**


	4. Symptoms

_Knock, knock_.

Lavi rolled over, hoping the knocking would go away. The knocking continued, even though Lavi ignored it. He tried to tell it to go away, but his voice was gone. Then he remembered.

He sat up and yanked his covers off so he could see his legs. Still not believing it anymore than a dream, he wiggled his toes. They were _REAL_! It wasn't a dream.

"Mr. Lavi!" called the maid. "It's time for breakfast!"

Lavi was going to call back, but remembered he'd traded his voice to Tyki. So he stood up and pulled the door open.

"Good morning, sir," the maid said. She held out some folded clothes. "I'm afraid it will take longer to get the salt out of your old things, so you'll have to wear these for now."

Lavi took the clothes, and the maid shut the door. After changing, Lavi opened the door again (he'd somehow gotten the clothes right without Allen's help) and followed the maid to the same small dining room.

Allen was already up and eating strange yellow lumps and dark red slices of meat. Lenalee was next to him, eating as well. Lavi felt the color creep into his cheeks when he saw Kanda next to Lenalee. Kanda just looked so handsome drinking his tea and reading his newspaper.

Allen raised an eyebrow at Lavi's thoughts. Lavi blushed, realizing Allen could hear everything he was thinking. _"Sorry!"_ Lavi said, sitting down. _"So what's for breakfast?"_

"Scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast," Allen replied, eating some more.

Lavi stared at the plate that was put in front of him like it was some kind of alien substance. _"It looks like it was already somebody's breakfast."_

"Lavi, just eat it."

Lenalee giggled. "Your brother's not a fan of breakfast?" she asked. Then she addressed Lavi. "If you'd like, I can ask the maid to bring something else."

Allen shook his head. "He'll eat it, don't worry."

Lavi picked up the fork and took a bite. His eyes widened. He'd never thought anything could taste this good. He took a bite of the bacon too and liked it even more. He looked at Allen, who was smirking. _"You win. It's good."_

"See? He'll eat it," Allen said with a smile to Lenalee.

Kanda finished his tea and stood. Without a word, he walked past Lavi, who grabbed his sleeve. "What?" he asked, looking Lavi straight in the eye.

Lavi blushed and let go. Allen spoke for him. "He wanted to thank you for allowing us to stay with you," he said.

_"Thank you!"_ Lavi said when Kanda left the room. _"It was a reflex. I couldn't help it!"_

"So then, Allen," Lenalee said, "what do you and your brother plan on doing today?"

"I plan on reading some books," Allen said. "It seems the culture here is quite a bit different than it is back home. I can't speak for Lavi, though."

Lavi was preoccupied watching the door Kanda had just walked out of. He wasn't paying any attention to Allen and Lenalee's conversation. All he could think about was Kanda.

"Lavi," Allen said, poking his brother. "We're going to the library. Do you want to stay here alone or come too?"

Lavi jumped up and winced when he stepped wrong on his sprained ankle. Allen rolled his eyes and helped his brother along through the halls.

"It's just through here," Lenalee said, opening the door. She stepped aside, allowing the two brothers to see the walls and shelves covered with more books that either had ever seen.

"So... many... books..." Allen said before collapsing into a chair.

_"Allen, it's just a bunch of books. It's nothing special,"_ Lavi commented. He picked up one of the volumes and flipped through it. _"Besides, there aren't even any pictures."_**1**

Allen rolled his eyes and grabbed a few books off the shelf. "How many books are there?" he asked, scanning the contents of each.

"I'm not sure," Lenalee admitted. "More than anyone could possibly read in a lifetime, I'm sure." She glanced at Lavi, who seemed extremely bored. "Does Lavi have any hobbies or interests? I'm sure we can find something for him to do so he's not quite so bored."

"Unless your cousin's a Shi—" Allen was cut off. Lavi'd slapped his hand over his brother's mouth to keep him quiet.

"Unless my cousin's a what?" Lenalee asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Unless Kanda likes—" Again, Lavi slapped his hand over Allen's mouth to keep him from talking. Allen shoved Lavi's arms away. "Will you stop doing that?" he snapped angrily at his brother. "I'm trying to help you."

_"You're not helping!"_

"Yes, I am helping," Allen said before turning back to a very perplexed Lenalee. He kept his brother at arm's length so that he could speak without interuption. "Lenalee, unless you're cousin likes men, I don't think Lavi will be too happy around here."

Lenalee stared a moment, wide-eyed. Then she did something very inappropriate. She started laughing,. "Oh my God!" she gasped between giggles. "You couldn't be more right! He is definitely Gay!"

_"What's Gay mean?"_ Lavi asked Allen, who shrugged. _"Seriously! What does it mean, Allen?"_

"How should I know?" Allen asked. "Look it up. It's probably in the dictionary Tyki gave us."

Lenalee looked from Allen to Lavi and back to Allen again. "I feel like I'm missing something here," she commented. "How can you be having a conversation with Lavi when he can't talk?"

Both Allen and Lavi turned pale. "Um... He uses telepathy..." Allen replied lamely.

"But then couldn't he talk to everyone that way rather than be mute?" she asked.

"It only works one way. He can talk to me. That's it."

Lenalee nodded as if it made sense. "All right... I have one more question. Does Lavi... Does he have a crush on my cousin?"

"Yep. He's in love."Allen let out a yelp when his brother smacked him on the head. "What? It's true!"

Lenalee giggled. "Well then, we should tell Kanda that."

"We can't!" Allen said quickly.

"Why not?" Lenalee asked. "There's no way Lavi can tell him, and I'm afraid Kanda had a really thick skull and doesn't notice this kind of stuff."

Allen sighed. They had to tell her. "Look, you probably won't believe me, but me and my brother are actually mermen from the underwater kingdom, Atlantica. The other day, we went up to the surface and saw you and Kanda on the ship. Lavi fell for Kanda, so we made a deal with a sorcerer to become human so Lavi might have a chance. If Lavi screws up, we turn back into mermen and are forced to be the sorcerer's slave. If Kanda finds out about all this, we'll probably turn back automatically."

Lenalee tilted her head to one side. "Then why are you telling me all this?"

"He only said we couldn't tell Kanda," Allen said with a grin. "Telling you doesn't count for anything."

"So you were serious before when you said Timcanpy was a blowfish?"

Allen nodded. "Where is Timcanpy, anyway?" There was a tapping sound against the window where Timcanpy was furiously trying to get inside. Allen opened it, and Timcanpy zipped in before the furry little beast outside swallowed him. The beast jumped in after Tim and chased the poor flying gold creature around.

_"Stupid furrball,"_ Lavi grumbled. He reached down to scoop the small creature up, but it had other ideas. It bit his hand and furiously scratched at it. Lavi let out a silent cry of pain and pulled his bleeding hand away.

"Bad Lulubelle! Bad cat!" Lenalee said, scooping it up and throwing it out the door into the hallway. "Scat. Go back to Miranda! Shoo!"

Allen was looking up at the nasty scratches on his brother's hand. "What the heck was that thing?"

"That was Miranda's cat, Lulubelle," Lenalee explained. "She has a bad temper, but usually doesn't try to maul random people."

"And what's a cat?"

"A house pet that likes to eat fish, birds, and small rodents."

Lavi and Allen looked at each other. "Fish...?" Allen repeated as Lavi thought the word.

_"Do merpeople count as fish?"_

"We probably smell like them..." Allen replied.

"Okay, what are you two talking about?" Lenalee asked. "You keep leaving me out of the loop."

"Sorry," Allen said. "Lavi was wondering if mermen count as fish, and I think we probably smell like them."

Lenalee leaned in close and sniffed. "I don't smell anything, but cats do have more sensitive noses than humans..."

_"Note to self: avoid cats at all costs."_

"So... you believe us?" Allen asked.

"Not completely. You're story doesn't make much sense, but I'm sure you have your reasons for making something like that up."

"Tim?" Allen said, holding out his hand. "Dictionary, please."

Timcanpy spewed out the dictionary into Allen's hand, much to Lenalee's disgust. Allen opened it up to a random page and showed it to Lenalee. He tilted his head in mild confusion as Lenalee turned a deep red. "What?" he asked, turning it around to see what she'd just read. He didn't find anything remotely embarrassing there.

"S-Shining?" Lenalee said, her face turning even redder. "Shining is..."

"Mating?" Allen finished blankly. He didn't see what was so wrong with it. He read the book and was even more confused by the definition Tyki had written there. "...What's sex?"

If Lenalee could have blushed more, she would have. "I-it doesn't matter," she said. "We really ought to bandage Lavi's hand."

"Are you changing the subject?" Allen asked.

"Of course I am!" Lenalee cried. "It's inappropriate for a young lady to talk about this sort of thing!"

Lavi watched them like he would a finslap match, going back and forth. His hand had stopped bleeding, so he licked it a bit to get the blood off.

"Don't lick it!" Lenalee cried. "It'll just get infected!" She tugged his hand away. "Let me get the nurse to bandage it."

"What would be the point of that?" Allen asked. "It's stopped bleeding. He's just getting rid of the dried blood."

Lenalee looked closer at the wound and realized Allen was right. "Okay, that's just plain weird."

"Merpeople heal fast because all that saltwater would make it hurt really bad otherwise," Allen said with a shrug. "Sharks can smell blood from really far away, too, so the sooner we heal the less likely we'll be eaten."

"You get attacked by sharks?" Lenalee gasped.

"I imagine we taste really good to them. Maybe as good as your chicken tastes..." He thought a moment. "Of course, Shimmers get attacked even if they aren't injured because their scales attract sharks."

"Shimmers?" Lenalee repeated.

Allen pointed at Lavi. "You used a word for it earlier... I think it was... Gay?" Allen shrugged. "Basically, Shimmers have really sparkly scales on their tails."

"Gay doesn't mean sparkly tails," Lenalee said with a frown.

"It means that they prefer men though, right?"

Lenalee couldn't connect the two ideas. "That has nothing to do with sparkly tails, though."

"It does among merpeople. If you have a sparkly tail, you prefer your own gender. It just goes together."

Lavi was getting bored with the argument. He stood up as they continued to argue about whether or not shimmering scales went along with being Gay and left the room. No one was around, so he decided to explore the castle a bit since his ankle was feeling better already. Grinning, he wandered down the halls, stopping every so often to look at the paintings and tapestries on the wall. Every so often, he'd go into one of the unlocked rooms and poke around.

Eventually, Lavi reached a staircase. There was still more of the castle to see, so he started down them. Halfway down, though, he stepped wrong on the stair and slipped. He closed his eyes against the rush of air as he fell. Then something warm caught him.

He opened his eye and saw an arm. He followed it up to a shoulder and then to the face. He stared into Kanda's dark eyes for a few moments before it set in that Kanda was holding him!

He pushed away from Kanda, but Kanda didn't let go until he was sure Lavi had his balance. "Are you all right?" Kanda asked.

Lavi bobbed his head up and down in response. He felt the color burning in his cheeks. _I can't believe I'm here with Kanda!_ he screamed in his head.**2** He stared at his feet in embarrassment.

Kanda took Lavi's chin and tilted it up so he could look at his face. "You're sure your okay? You look a little flushed."

Lavi felt like his bones were melting. He collapsed into Kanda's arms. "Ack! Lavi! Get a grip on yourself! What's wrong?"

_I'm okay..._ Lavi tried to say. He felt dizzy and warm in Kanda's arms. He'd never felt this way around anyone before.

Kanda managed to keep Lavi standing with one hand and used the other to feel his forehead. "You're burning up!" he exclaimed.**3** "Your room's not far from here. Can you make it there so I can get the nurse?"

Lavi's mind was foggy. _Why do I need the nurse?_ he tried to ask, but knew Kanda couldn't hear him.

"Can you walk?" Kanda asked, but Lavi was too out of it to respond. Sighing, he put one arm under Lavi's knees and used the other to support his back as he carried him to the room. Kanda laid Lavi down gently on the bed and pulled the sheet over him. "Wait here," he said before leaving.

Lavi sat up when he saw the nurse and Kanda return. This time, the nurse was carrying a black bag. Lavi watched intently as the nurse retrieved a strange glass stick from her bag.

"Open your mouth," she said. The nurse put the balled end in Lavi mouth and waited a few moments before taking it out again. "You definitely have a fever." She placed it back in her bag.

Lavi's stomach lurched uncomfortably. He covered his mouth with his hand as he felt it lurch again.

The nurse noticed and snatched the vase of flowers on the nightstand. She dumped out the contents and held it close to Lavi's mouth. He grabbed it and puked into it. "Stomach flu," she diagnosed.

Lavi was shaking as the nurse pushed him back down onto the pillow. He felt horrible, and the bad taste in his mouth was just making him feel even more ill. He'd never had anything like this back under the sea. _I hate being human_.

"Your Highness, why are you still here?" the nurse asked. "Make yourself useful and fetch a bowl or something for in case he gets sick again."

"I think the vase works well enough," Kanda commented.

"Your Highness..." the nurse said threateningly. "If you don't leave, you'll probably get sick as well."

Kanda shrugged. "I carried him here. I'm practically doomed as is."

"Just leave!"

Kanda raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as he left. Lavi didn't want Kanda to leave, though. _"Don't go!"_ he tried to shout.

Allen pushed past Kanda in the doorway. "Lavi! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

_"Of course I'm not okay! Kanda's leaving!"_

Rolling his eyes, Allen poked his head out the door and whistled loudly. "Kanda! Get back here a minute!" he shouted.

Kanda spun around and glared. "I'm not a dog, stupid Bean Sprout," he growled.

"I'm not a Bean Sprout," Allen replied. "Lavi wants you."

"And how would you know what a mute person wants?"

"He's my brother," Allen said with a shrug.

The nurse sighed in frustration. "Both of you, leave!" she said, shoving them out the bedroom door. "Mr. Lavi is sick and needs his rest. He will be fine. He is not going to die of the flu."

_"What was that noise?"_ Lavi asked through the door.

Allen ducked the nurse's arm and went back into the room. "It was a whistle. Lenalee taught me how to do it."

"Out!" the nurse shouted. She pushed him outside of the room and slammed the door in his face.

"Well, that could have gone better," Allen commented, but Kanda was nowhere to be found. "Where'd—" Then he heard an excited thought from Lavi. "When did he sneak in?"

"Your Highness! I thought I told you to leave!" the nurse growled.

"This is my castle, so I'll do as I damn well please," Kanda replied calmly.

"Lavi needs his rest, and you're disturbing him."

"You're the one making the most noise," Kanda commented.

"He needs rest!" she snapped. "Look at how tired he is!"

Lavi glared at the nurse and pointed to the door. The nurse nodded in satisfaction.

"See? Even he wants you to leave."

Lavi shook his head. He didn't want Kanda to leave! To make sure his message got across this time, he pointed at the nurse and then to the door.

"I think he wants _you_ to leave," Kanda said with a smirk.

"But I'm supposed to take care of you," she said to Lavi. "You're ill."

"I think you've done a good enough job with that," Kanda said. He sat down in a chair. "You said he just needs rest. Your work here is done."

The nurse pursed her lips. "Very well," she said at last. "I'll be back in an hour to check on him. When I come back, you have to leave so Lavi can get some sleep."

Kanda agreed and the nurse left. "So, are you feeling any better now that the nurse is gone?"

Lavi nodded. He lay back down and rolled on his side so he could look at Kanda. Kanda scooted his chair closer and gently tucked the redhead in. Lavi reached out and took Kanda's hand in his. He placed Kanda's hand on his cheek and smiled at his scent.

"So you like the smell of leather?" Kanda said, noticing Lavi's smile as he sniffed his hand. "I train with a sword, so my hands tend to smell that way."

Still smiling, Lavi shifted in his bed so he was a little closer to Kanda. He could smell a bunch of other things. There was the same scent as the one on Kanda's hands... He could smell some kind of oil that Kanda probably used on his sword. There was also the faint scent of a plant Lavi didn't recognize. He frowned at the unfamiliar smell.

"What are you sniffing now, you silly Rabbit?" Kanda asked. "Do I really smell that good to you?"

Lavi nodded against Kanda's hand and closed his eyes. He sighed happily and soon drifted off to sleep.

"Lavi?" Kanda asked. _He fell asleep..._ Gingerly, he brushed Lavi's bangs out of his face. He looked so perfect, sleeping there and holding his hand. Kanda tried to pull his hand back, but Lavi held on tightly. "I'm not getting my hand back any time soon, am I?" he asked Lavi, who of course was sound asleep and didn't respond. Sighing, he settled back in his chair.

As promised, the nurse did return an hour later. She wasn't quite expecting what she found, though. Lavi was fast asleep holding onto Kanda's hand, and Kanda had nodded off in his chair. Sighing, the nurse shook the prince's shoulder gently. "Your Highness, wake up."

Kanda rubbed his eyes drowsily. "Oh, I must have fallen asleep." He tried to pull his hand away from Lavi, hoping that the redhead's grip had loosened in the time he was asleep.

It was a big mistake. Lavi yanked Kanda's hand back, pulling Kanda down along with it. Kanda was half in his chair and half on the bed now, and Lavi was now hugging his whole arm.

"As you can see, I'm a bit tied up at the moment," Kanda grumbled when he saw Lavi was still asleep. "I'd say wake him up, but I think he could sleep in the middle of a stampede and not be bothered by it..."

The nurse stifled a laugh. "Well, then it seems you'll be here a while. Too bad you didn't leave when I told you to. You wouldn't be in this mess if you had."

Kanda glared. "If you're just going to crack jokes, go away. If you want to help, help already!"

Still chuckling at Kanda's predicament, the nurse gently shook Lavi's shoulder. "Mr. Lavi," she said, nudging him again. "Mr. Lavi, I need to take your temperature again."

Lavi twitched and released Kanda. Sleepily, he sat up and rubbed his eye with his scratched up hand.

Surprised, the nurse took Lavi's hand and looked more closely at it. "When did you get these?" she asked. Lavi shrugged in response, too sleepy to try and remember when he'd gotten the scratches. "Well, you probably got them a few days ago and no one noticed," she decided. She reached into her bag and pulled out the glass stick again.

After another few moments of waiting, the nurse frowned at the glass stick. Lavi didn't know what she was looking at, but the frown meant it wasn't good. "You're temperature went up... This isn't good at all."

Once again, the nurse dug through her black bag and retrieved a bottle and a spoon. She poured some of the thick liquid into the spoon and held the glob out for Lavi to take. Lavi clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. He wasn't about to eat that!

The nurse looked helplessly to Kanda. Kanda took the spoon from her and held it out for Lavi. "Come on, Lavi. Open your mouth like a good little rabbit." Lavi shook his head again. "Please? It'll make you feel a lot better."

Lavi could feel his resolve against the medicine weakening. Slowly, he opened his mouth, and Kanda pushed the spoon into it. "Now close," he said. Lavi did as he was told and Kanda pulled the now empty spoon back.

Lavi felt like throwing up again. The medicine tasted terrible, and he didn't want to swallow it. "Swallow," Kanda said, seeing that Lavi was going to spit it out. Lavi shook his head and glanced around for the vase he'd thrown up in earlier. "The sooner you swallow, the sooner you don't have to taste that nasty stuff anymore." Lavi shook his head again.

Sighing, Kanda put his hand over Lavi's mouth so he couldn't spit it out. "Swallow," he repeated, his face inches from Lavi's. Dazed, Lavi did.

When Kanda removed his hand, Lavi started gagging. He could still taste the nasty stuff. _Liar!_ he wanted to shout.

Kanda handed Lavi a glass of water, which he chugged. "Don't drink it so fast. Do you want to get sick again?"

Lavi stopped gulping down the water and shook his head. Kanda took the half-full glass from Lavi and placed it on the nightstand. "Get better soon," Kanda said before standing and leaving the room.

Lavi reached out like a child and made grabbing motions. He didn't want Kanda to leave. He wanted Kanda to stay with him.

The nurse pushed Lavi back onto the bed and tucked him in, but it didn't feel the same as when Kanda had done it earlier. "His Majesty is a very busy man. He'll be even more busy when they set a date for his and Princess Lenalee's wedding."

Shocked, Lavi sat up and was about to get out of bed when he felt an overwhelming dizziness. _"What do you mean Kanda and Lenalee's wedding...?"_ he wanted to ask. He cursed the fact he didn't have a voice to ask. He didn't know what a wedding was, but it sounded important.

Meanwhile, nearby in the castle, Allen sat bolt upright in his chair. He'd heard Lavi's thoughts. "Lenalee!" Allen said quickly. "What's this about you and Kanda having a wedding?"

Lenalee blinked. "It's never going to happen," she said simply. She leaned closer. "Allen, do you even know what a wedding is?"

"No, but I assume it's pretty big by how Lavi's obsessing over it."

"You mean merpeople don't have marriage?"

"Um... What's _marriage_?"

"You know... when people are engaged for a really long time, they get married and have kids...?"

It clicked in Allen's mind. "Oh! You mean like giving an apple?"

"Apple...?" Lenalee repeated.

"Yeah, you give it to someone you like a lot and you become mates and... Shine."

Lenalee blushed again. "You merpeople have no shame..." she muttered. "You give fruit to each other and have sex because of it?"

"Fruit? What the heck are you talking about?"

Lenalee reached into the fruit basket and selected a hard, red fruit. "You give these to each other?"

"Never seen one of those in my life," Allen replied. He stood, grabbed Lenalee's hand, and led her down to the beach.

"We're not going to find any apples here," Lenalee said. "They don't grow in the sand."

"Apples aren't plants," Allen said, searching the sandy beach. He scooped up a rock the size of his fist. "This is an apple."

"That's a rock," Lenalee corrected.

"No," Allen said. He handed the rock to Timcanpy, who bit it in half. Allen took the two halves, and small jewels spilled out of the geode. "Apple!"

The small jewels entranced Lenalee. They reflected every color of the rainbow and shown colors she'd never thought existed before. She reached out to touch it, but stopped when her fingers were inches from the gems. "Wait, if I take one of these..."

"Then we'd be mates," Allen replied calmly.

Lenalee jerked her hand back. "I am not having sex with you for a rock!" she hissed.

"Well, you humans do that when you give marriage to each other," Allen pointed out.

"Allen, marriage isn't a thing you give to someone," Lenalee said with a sigh. He really didn't understand it. "It's promising yourself to one person for all eternity."

"So is giving an Apple. You give an apple to the merperson you want to be mates with for as long as you live."

Lenalee blushed. "A-and you were about to... let me have that apple...? We hardly even know each other..."

Allen shrugged and went to put the rock down.

"Wait!"

Allen stopped. "You want it?"

"N-not now..." Lenalee said, blushing furiously. "I told you, I hardly know you..."

"So it's because you and Kanda are getting married."

"That's not it either. I told you, Kanda's so Gay he makes a rainbow look straight. It's just... I like you, Allen, just not like that... Not yet..."

Allen reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and wrapped the stone in it. He put it in his pocket. "Then I think you should explain that to Lavi. I'm sure he's still freaking out about you and Kanda."

"Ah! Yes, that would probably be a good idea, especially if he's sick. He won't be able to rest easy unless he knows."

They returned to the castle and walked into Lavi's room, where he was laying with a folded cloth on his forehead. The nurse was still there, watching worriedly as Lavi kept trying to get up. "Mr. Allen, please talk some sense into your brother," she said. "He keeps trying to get up no matter what I say to him."

Lenalee came closer. "Nurse, could you leave for a few minutes?" Once the nurse was gone, Lenalee turned back to Lavi. "Lavi, Kanda and I are not getting married or becoming mates or however you want to put it. You can have Kanda all to yourself."

Lavi's eyes widened. _"Really? Nothing's going on between Kanda and Lenalee?"_

"Nothing at all," Allen said, stepping a little closer to Lenalee. "Kanda's a human Shimmer."

Lavi breathed a sigh of relief. _"Thank... Poseiden..."_ he muttered sleepily before nodding off again.

* * *

The next morning, the nurse rushed into the dining room carrying her black bag. "Mr. Allen! Have you seen... Mr. Lavi..." She realized how dumb the question was when she saw him eating toast.

One of the servants came closer. "We heard that he was ill yesterday, so we thought toast wouldn't upset his stomach much if he was still sick."

The nurse thanked the servant for his foresight and placed the bag down on an empty chair. Lavi already knew what was coming when she started rummaging through it and set his toast down. He took the glass stick from her and put it into his mouth. He heard Lenalee giggle when he started spinning it in his mouth or making the end rotate in a large circle.**4**

Frowning at his behavior, the nurse snatched the glass rod out of Lavi's mouth and looked at it. "Holy... How did your temperature go down so quickly?" Thinking the thermometer might be broken, she put her hand on Lavi's forehead. Still, he didn't feel warm at all.

Lavi went back to munching on his toast while the nurse stood there, perplexed. He'd been so sick the day before. "How's your ankle?"

Lavi stuck out his leg and rolled his ankle a few times. "Your hand?" Lavi held the toast in his mouth and showed her the almost non-existent scratches. Dumbstruck, the nurse turned to Allen and pointed at his brother.

Allen shrugged with a smirk. "He always heals fast."

The nurse was sorely tempted to take a knife and cut Allen with it to see if he healed just as fast, but held back the urge. "Well, then... Mr. Lavi, take it easy today."

Lavi nodded and finished his toast. Still hungry, Lavi inched his hand stealthily towards Allen's bacon. Allen smacked his hand, and Lavi hastily retreated.

Kanda entered the room and one of the servants served him breakfast. He was about to eat, but noticed Lavi looking a little depressed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Lavi rubbed his stomach. "You're still not feeling well?" Kanda guessed. When Lavi shook his head and pointed at Allen's food, it made sense. "Oh, you're still hungry." Kanda signaled to one of the servants.

The servant brought him some more toast, making Lavi sigh. Kanda smiled. "I'm sure some bacon wouldn't hurt." Lavi's eyes lit up.

Lenalee dropped her fork. "Did you just... smile?"

The smile vanished, much to Lavi's disappointment. "No."

"But Darling," Lenalee said as a servant handed Lavi his bacon and came to collect her empty plate, "if you don't smile, I might just leave you for someone else."

The servants gasped and became interested in the conversation.

Kanda put on a fake smile. "Well, then I'll just have to smile more for you, won't I, my dear?" He went over to Lenalee's chair and kissed a lock of her hair.

The servants relaxed a bit and left the room when Kanda dismissed them for the moment. "Okay, that was the _corniest_ thing you've ever done," Lenalee commented.

"You're the one who made the 'leaving you' threat," Kanda said, sitting down. He picked up his fork and started to eat.

"Why don't you kiss Lavi or someone else who'd actually appreciate it," Lenalee hinted. She watched in smug satisfaction as Kanda choked on his sausage.

"W-where on Earth would you get an idea like that?" he asked, glanced at Lavi and Allen to see if they caught on to what Lenalee was insinuating.

"Oh please, they already know you're Gay," Lenalee said, sipping her tea. "And just so you know, Lavi's a little Gay too," she added in a whisper only Kanda could hear.

Kanda blushed and stood. "I-I'll see you all later. Important business to attend to and all."

"Oh, there's an open market tomorrow," Lenalee commented as she read through a newspaper article. "I wonder if Roger's**5** free tomorrow..."

"Why Roger?" Kanda asked.

"You know... Since you're so busy, we have to find a fourth person. They say three's an unlucky number."

"No, four's the unlucky number," Kanda replied.**6**

"Actually, where we're from, the unlucky number's three," Allen said with a grin. "That's why we have Timcanpy."

"That makes no sense," Kanda said, raising an eyebrow. He, of course, was the only one in the room not in on the fact that Lavi and Allen were actually mermen, so he had no idea that their father lived under the sea. He still thought their little story from before was the truth.

"The point is, we need to find someone to hang out with Lavi since I'll be with Allen." Lenalee twirled her hair with a finger. "That's why I was thinking Roger could come and keep an eye on Lavi to make sure nothing happened to him."

Kanda sighed. "All right, all right, I get the hint," he said. "I'll join you all for the market tomorrow."

Lenalee winked at Lavi. "Make sure to bring money," she said sweetly.

Lavi grinned and hugged Lenalee. "You're welcome, Lavi."**7** Once Lavi let go of her, she stood up. "Well, I should get going, too. My brother will be upset if I fall behind in my studies while I'm here."

Allen followed her out of the room. Lavi raised an eyebrow. _"I don't want to know."_

**

* * *

**

1 I know Lavi's usually the one excited about books and stuff, but it's the other way around for this fic. :)

_Hee hee hee..._** Lavi's more interested in other things.**

**2 In case you didn't notice, some of Lavi's thoughts are in quotes and others aren't. Lavi's thoughts that are like **_**"this"**_** are being sent to Allen telepathically because they're close enough for that to work. Thoughts that are like **_**this**_** are out of range of the telepathy to work.**

**3**_ It's a fever of love!_

**4 Beware bored Lavi.**_ Just imagine if you gave him something else to play with._**I don't want to know what you were thinking of there. O.o;;;**

**5 This is a reference to Dirty Little Secrets, our other fic, by the way.**

**6 "Shi," the Japanese word for "four," is also the word for death. That's why in Japan you can never buy things in sets of four. :)**

7_ We all know what Lenalee's thinking: "Praise me, I'm God."_

**Woot! Chapter done! And we're actually getting somewhere!**

_I'm sorry it was late!_

**... (raises eyebrow) Um... Sure. Anyway, thank you for reading, everyone!**

_Byes! See you next chapter! And remember: It's a fever of love, not the flu!_

**It's the flu. See you!**


	5. Market

Everything was dark. Lavi opened his eyes and stared around the darkness. "Mommy?" he asked, his voice small and insignificant in the gloom. "Suman?" His tail glittered. "Where are you?"

"Over here!"

Lavi smiled and swam closer. "I'm sorry for getting lost!" he said with a smile.

Their mother patted Lavi on the head. "We found you, and that's what's important," she said, her voice light and gentle. She was beautiful, with dark hair and silver eyes. She was the only woman Lavi loved.

Suman stuck out his tongue. "Baby got lost!" he teased. "Baby was crying!"

"Now Suman!" their mother scolded. "Don't be mean to your brother. You cried too when you got lost the other day!"

Suman stuck his tongue out at his mother too, and then grinned. "Okie doke! Time to go home!" he said. Suman always had to lead the way. Cross, their father, always swore he'd make a great king someday.

Lavi smiled and held his mother's hand. They started home from the underwater field, laughing as they went.

The world turned dark again. Lavi spun around and saw it—the shark. "Lavi!" his mother cried, grabbed him and shielding him with her body. She screamed as the shark's teeth ripped through her.

Lavi's eyes were wide as he saw his mother's blood. He couldn't move—couldn't scream.

Suman, though, was ready. "Mom!" he shouted, drawing his toy sword and charging at the beast. He hit it hard on the head with a loud _crack, _leaving a large cut. The shark bore it's teeth angrily and tore Suman's arm off.

Suman let out a cry of pain. He no longer had a weapon because the shark had swallowed his toy blade along with the rest of his arm. "Lavi! Run!"

Lavi still couldn't move. "S-Suman..." he managed to croak. "M-Mommy..."

The shark turned on Lavi. It launched itself at him, mouth wide. Lavi knew that it had been his tail that attracted it. It was his fault, and now he was going to...

_BANG!!!!!_

* * *

Lavi jolted up in bed, panting and sweating from his nightmare. He was shaking, and felt something wet ran down his cheeks. Lavi wiped it away and stared at the pearly tear sitting on his finger. He tossed the small stone away and heard it click when it hit the ground.1

Still frightened by the darkness, Lavi climbed out of bed and wandered into the hall. _Allen?_ he called out, hoping that Allen would hear him and come. He didn't want to be alone, not after that.

After a few moments of waiting in the hall, Lavi decided to try and find his brother. Mechanically, he walked through the dark corridors, still trying to wipe away the pearly tears away.

"Who's there?" someone shouted.

Lavi looked up, momentarily blinded by torchlight. There were two guards standing outside a room, weapons at the ready.

"Eh? Isn't that Mr. Lavi?" said the one, sheathing his sword. "What's wrong? Why're you cryin'?"

Lavi rubbed away the tears again. He didn't want anyone to see those tears. If they did, everything would be ruined.

"Hey, it's okay," said the other guard. He came closer and patted Lavi on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Lavi sobbed and collapsed to the ground. The two guards knelt down. "There there, it's okay," the first whispered.

The door opened, revealing two more guards. "What's going on out here?"

"Lavi's upset about something," the second guard said.

"Poor Lavi!" said the one guard that came from inside. "I'll get some warm milk! Be right back!" She sprinted down the hall. A few moments later, she returned with a glass of milk.

"You three! Stop coddling him!" cried the head guard. "Mr. Lavi, please return to your room."

"What's going on out here?"

The head guard spun around. "Oh! Er... Your Majesty... Mr. Lavi came here and those three... Well, it's obvious what those three are doing."

The three guards looked innocently at Kanda. "He was upset," said the one guard.

"Roger, that's no excuse for your behavior!" snapped the head guard.

"Now, Howard Link," Kanda said calmly, "I was already awake. They didn't cause any trouble."

Lavi hiccuped and stared up at Kanda. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks. Kanda noticed and squatted down in front of Lavi. "Lavi, what's wrong?" he asked, even though he knew Lavi couldn't answer. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Lavi nodded and rubbed away some of the tears. Kanda blinked. _Was that... a pearl?_ he thought, but shook his head. _I must be seeing things._

"Your Majesty, we can take Lavi back to his room," the female guard volunteered.

"When he calms down a bit," Kanda said quietly, petting Lavi's head. He looked so fragile, Kanda was afraid he might break him if he spoke too loudly. Lavi's eyes were empty except for the small tears still falling from them. "Lavi, it's all right. Everything's fine. It was just a bad dream."

Lavi let out another choked sob and buried his face in Kanda's chest. Kanda lost his balance and fell backward. _It wasn't a dream_, Lavi wanted to say. _It wasn't!_

Kanda patted Lavi's back. He didn't say a word as he pulled Lavi into a hug. It just seemed like the right thing to do. He could feel Lavi's shoulders shaking as he cried into his chest. "It's all right," he whispered. Lavi's grip on Kanda's shirt tightened. "You just had a bad dream is all. You'll be fine."

Roger glanced at the other male guard. "His Majesty looks like he's enjoying it. What do you think, Toma?"

"He looks like he's enjoying hugging Lavi just as much as Moore did," Toma replied.

The female guard smacked them both on the head. "Shut it!" she muttered, blushing. Moore turned to Link. "Captain! Tell them off!"

"Everyone, take Mr. Lavi back to his room and get back to your posts," the captain declared.

"There's one problem with that command, Captain," Kanda said.

"And what would that be?"

"He's already out cold."

"We can carry him!" Roger said. "Lavi's not that heavy! Me and Toma can handle it easy!"

Kanda rolled his eyes and tried to pull Lavi away from him. His grip was too strong. "Yeah... That's not going to happen either, I think."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Toma asked.

"I'll just let him stay in my room," Kanda said. He somehow managed to stand and hold Lavi while the redhead clung to him. "I need to get some work done, so Lavi can just sleep in my bed."

"Bet you five bucks Kanda tries something," Roger mumbled to Toma.2

"You're on," Toma whispered back.

Kanda rolled his eyes again and walked into his room. He pried Lavi's hands away and laid him down on the bed. He tucked Lavi in.

A single tear rolled down Lavi's cheek, so Kanda wiped it away. He was surprised to find that the tear was hard, almost like a jewel. _What is this?_ Kanda thought, staring at the small pearl that was on his finger. "How is this... possible?"

Kanda leaned over and stared into Lavi's face. There were a few more tears sticking to Lavi's lashes, so Kanda wiped those away too. They were also jewels. "What are you...?" Kanda asked, even though Lavi was fast asleep.

Kanda rushed to his bookcase and searched the titles. _There has to be something here that can answer that._

* * *

A few hours later, Kanda finally found something. "Mermaid's tears..." he muttered. "Legend has it that mermaids cry these tears. As mermaids rarely cry, they are very rare. They're a pearl-like substance that is very valuable," he read out loud. "Mermaid?" he repeated, looking at Lavi. The redhead was hugging a pillow and looked happy compared to earlier.

Kanda closed the book with a snap and went back to his bookcase. "There's no way he could be a mermaid," he said, putting the book back. He searched the titles for something else that could shed more reasonable light on the subject. His hand paused above a thin book. He pulled it out and looked at the cover. "The Little Mermaid..." he read. It had been one of his favorites as a child, but he could have sworn he'd thrown it out years ago.

Shrugging, he sat back down and leafed through it. The pages were still bright and colorful, and the text was giant for a child to read easily. Kanda knew the story by heart and didn't need to read it, but the sense of nostalgia was addicting.

He hesitated before turning the final page. He hated this part of the story. He always had, and always would.

The page depicted the beautiful mermaid flinging herself in the ocean, and the text read that she'd turned into sea foam. The next showed her as an angel-like being surrounded by others saying that she was doomed to fly around the earth a thousand years like themselves and that her sentence would be shorter if she found good children obeying their parents but longer if she saw them being bad.3

Kanda sighed. When he was little, he'd tried to behave the best he could because he'd actually believed the stupid story. Irritated, he snapped the book closed. _It's a good thing I don't believe in this crap now, _he thought.

Still, he looked back at Lavi, who was obviously having a good dream about food, judging by the way he was chewing on Kanda's pillow. _But... what if he really is a merman?_ Kanda shook his head. It was a stupid thought, but things only made sense if he assumed that was the case. The pearls Lavi had cried would only be possible if Lavi was a merman. Plus, in the book, the mermaid had traded her voice for legs. What if it was the same for Lavi?

_But then Allen would also be mute,_ Kanda reminded himself. If they were really brothers, they'd both have been mermen. Allen would have had to trade his voice as well, wouldn't he? He didn't consider that Allen could have traded something else (or that Allen could have cheated at enough card games). _Besides, why would they want to be human if that was the case?_

Then it hit him. _He can't be in love with me! _he thought, eyes widening. _We've only just met! There's no such thing as love at first sight!_ Kanda never believed in such a thing. Love at first sight was just a fairy tale, like mermaids and witches and spells. None of it was real. It was all just a bedtime story just to entertain kids and get them to be good.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Kanda said calmly.

A maid with short dark hair entered. "Good morning, Your Majesty," she said, curtsying. "You're up awfully early..." her voice trailed off when she noticed Lavi sleeping in Kanda's bed. She pointed and looked accusingly at Kanda.

"Whatever you're thinking is automatically wrong, Miranda," Kanda said, knowing exactly what was going through her head.

"So he didn't crawl into your bed after having a nightmare?" Miranda asked.

"I know you just made that up on the spot," Kanda growled. "You were thinking something a lot more dirty."

"That's beside the point," Miranda said. "The Little Mermaid?" she asked, picking up the picture book. "Why on earth is this out? Were you reading it to help Mr. Lavi fall asleep?"

Kanda shook his head. "I was just curious about something."

"What kind of something?"

Kanda reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the pearls. "Lavi was crying these last night."

"Impossible," Miranda said with a laugh. "Humans can't cry pearls."

"Exactly," Kanda said. "These are 'Mermaid's Tears.' According to legend, mermaids cry these."

"You think Lavi's a mermaid?"

"Merman, actually," Kanda said coolly. "That's why I was reading the book."

"Your Majesty, we've been through this before. There is no such thing as magic or mermaids, or mer_men_ for that matter."

"But I _saw_ Lavi cry these!" Kanda snapped.

"I'm getting the nurse. You're obviously not feeling well today," Miranda said, closing the door behind her.

Kanda sighed. Maybe he'd just dreamt the whole thing up and picked up those pearls somewhere or another. Still...

He gently shook Lavi's shoulder. "Lavi, it's time to get up," he said calmly. When he didn't get a response, he shook Lavi a little harder. "Lavi, wake up."

Lavi released the pillow and rolled over to face Kanda. Kanda let out an exasperated sigh and shook Lavi even harder. The redhead reached up in his sleep and pulled Kanda onto the bed in a big bear hug. _Crap_, Kanda thought.

The door opened. "Your Majesty, Miranda told me you're not acting like yourself... today..." She stared at Kanda and Lavi for a moment. "Should I come back later?"

"No, you should wake him up!" Kanda said, trying to escape Lavi's hug.

The nurse nodded and poked Lavi in the side. Lavi squirmed and opened his bright green eye. He released Kanda and sat up, blushing. _Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God..._ he kept repeating.

"Well, now that he's awake," the nurse said, turning to Kanda, "what's this I heard about you acting weird?"

"I woke up too early and wasn't thinking straight," Kanda replied. "You had nothing to do with that," he added when Lavi bowed his head apologetically.

"I see," the nurse said, leaving the room. She stopped when Roger grinned at her. "You win," she said, handing him the money in question.

Roger did a little victory dance. Toma tapped him on the shoulder and held out his hand expectantly. Roger sighed. "All right, all right, nothing happened," he grumbled as he handed the money he'd just won over to Toma.

Kanda rolled his eyes and slammed the door on them. "God, why do they keep wagering on me," he grumbled.

"It's 'cause you're fun to wager on!" Roger shouted through the door.

Kanda sighed. "So, are you feeling better this morning?" he asked Lavi.

Lavi nodded and stood. It was still a strange feeling, walking around like that. He smiled sweetly at Kanda.

"What?" Kanda asked, causing Lavi to flinch. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Lavi stared at his feet. He'd gotten Kanda mad at him. He dragged his feet as he went to the door. Kanda grabbed his shoulder before he could leave, though.

"Sorry," Kanda said. "Look, I don't mean to sound, well, mean, but it just comes out that way sometimes. Don't take it personally, okay?"4

Lavi nodded, but didn't look at Kanda. He was afraid that if he did, Kanda might get mad at him for looking at him with the adoring smile. He opened the door and rushed off.

"Smooth," the guards commented as Kanda stood there, dejected.

"Shut up," Kanda replied, running his fingers through his hair. He closed the door again and leaned against it. _Why do I always mess up around him?_

* * *

"Woah..." Allen commented as Lavi thought it. "This is bigger than the market back home."

_"Definitely,"_ Lavi replied with a nod.

The market took up three blocks and each stall was filled to bursting with everything from food to clothing to toys to books to... well... everything. Lavi could tell his brother was just itching to start exploring. He, on the other hand, was just looking forward to spending time with Kanda.

"Well, let's split up!" Lenalee said. She hooked arms with Allen. "I'll go with Allen, and you two can go together." She pulled Allen away to one of the stalls.

Kanda glanced at Lavi, who was still taking in the sights and sounds. "So..." he said awkwardly, "shall we?"

Lavi smiled up at him, making Kanda blush slightly. _What is wrong with me?_ he thought as Lavi pulled him through the streets. Lavi was grinning up a storm as they went, but he wasn't stopping at any of the booths.

"You know," Kanda said, "the point of market is to shop."

Lavi nodded. He knew that. He wasn't stupid. He was looking for something all markets had that he and Kanda could both enjoy. He cheered silently as he found what he was looking for.

On one of the corners was a group of people. A few had instruments and were playing energetic tunes as a woman in flashy clothes sung and dance to the music. A small bowl was in front of them, and people occasionally tossed a coin in as they passed.

"This was what you were looking for?" Kanda asked as Lavi watched them. "Street performers?"

Lavi nodded again. The gypsies struck up a new song and the woman started singing.

"_There, you see her. Sittin' there across the way..._"5

Kanda's eyes widened. He knew this song. _Crap!_ "Lavi, why don't we go get some ice cream or something to eat?" he asked, desperate to escape the romantic song.

"..._And you don't know why, but you're dyin' to try, you wanna kiss the girl._"

Kanda tugged on Lavi's arm, but he was too engrossed in the dancing and singing. This was the last thing Kanda wanted to hear. "Lavi, come on!" he hissed, but the redhead ignored him. He cast around his mind desperately for something—anything—that could distract Lavi from the performers long enough to suggest doing something else. "We could... get some... chocolate?"

Lavi turned. _What's chocolate?_ he wanted to ask.

Kanda could tell he got his attention. "There's a stand here that always sells cake and stuff. You'll love it."

Lavi had no idea what cake or chocolate was, but if Kanda liked it, he was sure he would too. He followed Kanda, but paused long enough to toss a coin in the bowl for the performers. Kanda had given both he and Allen some money before they left the castle.

_Yummy..._ Lavi thought when they reached the stall selling the cakes. Everything smelled delicious, even if he didn't recognize what the smells were. He watched as Kanda ordered a miniature loaf of a dark bread.

"What do you want?" Kanda asked, shifting to the side so Lavi could choose.

Lavi looked closely at the labels on each of the strange foods. He had no idea what a "strawberry" or "cheesecake" was, but it looked good. He pointed at the cake, and the shopkeeper got a piece out of the display case for him.

Grinning, Lavi took a bite. It was delicious, especially the small red fruit on the top. He glanced at Kanda's food. He reached out with his fork to snatch a bite, but froze when Kanda noticed.

"If you want some, you can have some." Kanda broke off a piece of the bread and handed it to Lavi. Lavi tossed the piece in his mouth. Kanda laughed at his strange expression. "What, you've never had banana bread before?" he asked, and chuckled again when Lavi nodded. "What weird place are you from, huh?"

Kanda stopped when he noticed Lavi holding out his fork with a bit of cheesecake on it. "What, you want to share?" Lavi nodded, making Kanda roll his eyes. "I'm not about to eat off your fork, stupid." He noticed Lavi's expression wilt in minor disappointment and sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever." He tried to take the fork from Lavi, but Lavi tugged the fork out of reach. He glared at Lavi's playful expression. "Do you want me to try it or not?"

Lavi held the fork out again, closer to Kanda's face. Kanda felt himself blush lightly. Lavi wanted to feed him, not just hand the fork over. Kanda knew that if he didn't go along with what Lavi wanted, the stupid idiot would get upset, but if he did... People were already starting to stare, wondering who it was with their king. If they saw him eat off of Lavi's fork, the rumors would spread like wildfire.

Lavi waited patiently for Kanda to make up his mind. He could see Kanda glancing around the crowd forming and wondered if he was pushing it. He couldn't be, though. Things like this happened all the time back home. No one ever batted an eye at this sort of thing.

Confused, Lavi lowered the fork. Kanda took this as disappointment and grabbed Lavi's wrist. He held Lavi's arm still and ate the cheesecake in one fluid movement. He then stood, still holding Lavi's wrist, and rushed out of the amazed crowd. He could hear the whispers follow as he managed to escape with Lavi still with his cheesecake in hand.

Once they were around the corner and out of sight, Kanda stopped running and watched as Lavi obliviously finished his cake. Kanda sighed and looked in his hand at the crushed remains of his banana bread. "Damn it, Lavi. Don't pull a stunt like that again."

Lavi looked up at Kanda and tilted his head as if to say "What did I do?"

"Lavi, people around here... don't accept that sort of thing," Kanda said, avoiding the real words he wanted to say.

It took a full minute for what Kanda said to make sense. At first, Lavi thought it was simply people around here didn't share food like that, but that couldn't be the case—he'd seen a couple sharing a piece of cake the exact same way. Then he thought that maybe he'd embarrassed Kanda completely in front of everyone, but how could people not accept that their prince was just a little shy about things like this? Then it clicked. People didn't accept Shimmers.

Lavi patted Kanda on the shoulder, trying to apologize for his stupidity. He should have figured that out. Why else would Kanda pretend to be marrying Lenalee?

Kanda swatted Lavi's hand away gently. "I don't need to be comforted," Kanda grumbled. He rolled his eyes as Lavi stuck his tongue out childishly. "Do you want me to drag you back home?"

Lavi crossed his arms and pouted. He hated how he was being treated like a child. Kanda was practically acting like Allen. He didn't want another brother, he wanted a mate, a _lover_.

"Let's find Lenalee and Allen," Kanda grunted. He took Lavi's wrist again and pulled him along. He glanced over his shoulder at Lavi, who was watching the ground. _Crap, I made him upset again._ "Hey, Lavi," he muttered. Once Lavi looked up, he continued, "thank you for sharing your cake. It was pretty good."

Lavi shrugged, still a little upset. Kanda was just trying to cheer him up so no one would stare. In fact, Kanda holding Lavi's wrist probably seemed suggestive. He tugged his hand away, and Kanda released him. He felt a pang of sadness at this. Kanda didn't really care if he was holding on to him or not.

Kanda stopped, and Lavi walked into him. Kanda spun around on his heel and grabbed Lavi by the shoulders. "Lavi," he said seriously, "stop being so damned depressed. Keep this up, and I'll drag you back home kicking and screaming."

_I don't scream, remember?_ Lavi wanted to remind him, but settled for raising an eyebrow at Kanda. _Plus, we'd be alone..._ He felt his heart skip a beat at the thought. They'd be alone. Together. Where all sorts of miscellaneous things could happen. He resisted the urge to hug Kanda—to get him mad enough to take him back to the castle so they could spend some alone time together. Of course, that would be pointless, since Kanda seemed to be as thick as a brick when it came to how Lavi felt about him.

Kanda looked at Lavi funny. "Do I want to know what's going through your head right now?" he asked. He could tell by Lavi's face that something was going.

Lavi shook his head, face still flushed. He didn't want Kanda knowing what he was thinking. Kanda rolled his eyes and walked away. Lavi hurried behind him. Nervously, he reached out and took Kanda's hand. Kanda squeezed it gently, but let go.

"Look, Lavi," Kanda whispered, "we can't hold hands in public or anything like that. Like I said before, people don't accept that kind of thing."

Lavi tilted his head, still a little confused by it all. He hoped Kanda would understand and maybe explain why people didn't approve of Shimmers here.

Kanda frowned at Lavi. "What, they accept it where you're from?" When Lavi nodded, Kanda choked out a small laugh. "I should go there, then," he said before scanning the crowd for Allen and Lenalee.

Lavi was shocked. He grabbed Kanda's hand and when he looked, shook his head furiously. Lavi didn't want Kanda to go there, to his home. Not after Cross's display a few days before, not to mention the fact Shimmers were especially delicious to sharks...

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "I guess you don't want me to go there," he commented. "Well, whatever. Help me find your brother and Lenalee, will you?"

Lavi nodded and scanned the crowd as well. Then he remembered that Allen could hear his thoughts if he was close enough. _"Allen!"_ he shouted. _"Where are you?"_

Allen's head snapped up a few stalls away. He stood on tiptoe and waved Lavi and Kanda over. "Hey guys. Done with your shopping already?"

Lavi looked down at what Allen had been looking at. _"Sparkles!"_ he cried happily as he started looking as well. One in particular caught his eye, and he gently picked it up.

The necklace was rather simple, with a small jeweled fish charm hanging at the bottom and two tube-like beads on either side. The tube beads, though, were covered in small sparkling gemstones. Lavi blushed as he recognized them as apples.

Kanda noticed Lavi staring at the necklace. "You realize that's for a _woman_ to wear, right?" he asked. This information didn't deter Lavi in the least. Kanda breathed a sigh and turned to the shopkeeper. "How much is it?"

"It's one platinum piece, Your Highness," the man said, a grin on his face.

"I'll give you five gold pieces."

"Eight."

"One."

"You're supposed to increase your offer a bit, not go down!"

"I'm not paying more than one gold piece for that piece of junk."

"Let's go with five gold pieces, shall we?" He noticed Kanda wasn't budging on his offer, so he picked up two gold hoop earrings. "I'll throw these in, too."

Kanda frowned and grudgingly accepted the offer. Lavi could tell, though, that Kanda was perfectly happy with the deal.

Once the transaction was completed, he turned to Allen. "Now where'd Lenalee disappear to?"

Allen gestured to the store next door. "She's trying on clothes. Seriously, I don't get you people and your obsession with fashion."

"It's mostly Lenalee who's obsessed," Kanda admitted. He ambled over to the shop. Lavi and Allen were close behind.

Lenalee stepped out of the changing room in a white garden dress. Lavi's eyes widened. _"Now I see what you see in her..."_ he commented.

"You like it?" Lenalee asked, spinning around so that the skirt puffed out after her. When Allen and Lavi nodded, she laughed. "Hold on, I have one more. You three are going to love it!" She stepped back inside and closed the curtains.

A few minutes later, the curtains in front of the changing room swished open again, and Lenalee stepped out in a deep red muslin dress. "How do I look?" she asked, spinning around to show off the whole dress.

"Just lovely," Kanda said, rolling his eyes. He wasn't interested in any of it. Lenalee was just wasting time and putting on a show, asking him for his opinion. "You look pretty as a picture." Only Allen and Lenalee heard the sarcasm in his voice.

Kanda heard a gasp and felt Lavi grip his sleeve. He glanced down and saw that Lavi's face was white as a sheet. "Lavi? What's wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on Lavi's arm. Lavi's legs gave way and he fell to the ground, still gripping Kanda's sleeve for support. "Lavi!"

Allen heard the shallow, shuddering breaths as well. "Lenalee," he said, his voice level despite Lavi's obvious panic, "could you change out of that? Lavi really hates the color red."

Lenalee tilted her head. "Oh?" she said, confused. Then it made sense to her. "Oh! Right, okay. Be back in a few." She closed the curtain behind her.

Kanda knelt down and looked Lavi straight in the eye. The empty pool of green stared back at Kanda, unseeing. "Lavi, snap out of it," he said, tapping Lavi's cheek gently.

"Oh bother," Allen muttered, kneeling on Lavi's other side. He tugged Lavi's hands away from Kanda and pulled his brother into a hug. He whispered something Kanda couldn't hear, and Lavi nodded.

Kanda watched rather helplessly as Allen managed to calm Lavi down a little. He had no idea what had just happened. He was mad that he couldn't help and a little disappointed too. Allen seemed to have everything under control.

At last, Allen released Lavi and held him at shoulder length. "Okay?" he asked. Lavi nodded in response. "Good." He stood and tried to help Lavi up, but Lavi's legs weren't cooperating. "Er... Kanda? A little help, please."

Kanda nodded and lifted Lavi up by the elbow. Lavi leaned heavily on him, his legs still weak from whatever had just happened. "So, are you going to tell me what just happened?"

Allen was about to respond, but the store's clerk came over. "Is something wrong?" she asked, peering into Lavi's face. "You seem a little pale."

Kanda decided to handle this one. "He's had a little too much sun and excitement. Is there someplace he can sit down for a little while? Someplace quiet?"

The woman gasped, just now realizing who it was supporting the sickly person. "Of course, Your Highness!" she squeaked, curtsying. "There's an office in the back that he can use."

Kanda nodded, and they followed the woman to the back room. "Come on, Lavi, you can walk," he grumbled as he half-dragged him to the chair behind the desk. "Miss, could you bring Lenalee here when she's done changing?"

"Of course, Your Highness," she said before scurrying off.

"Well? Explain what just happened," Kanda said once the woman had shut the door behind her.

"Er... well..." Allen glanced at Lavi, who nodded. "You see... When we were little... Um..."

"Spit it out!"

Allen squared his shoulders. "Lavi watched our mother and brother get ripped apart by a shark," he said. He was surprised when Kanda looked unperturbed by the whole explanation.

"So?"

"So? How can you say that?" Allen snapped back angrily. "Lavi watched two people get killed, and all you can say is _so?_"

Kanda shrugged. "Trust me, I've had it just as bad, maybe worse."

"Worse? _Worse?!_" Allen snapped. "How could a rich snob like you possibly have had it _worse_? You have servants out the wazzoo! You have everything you could ever want!"

"Lavi has an _overprotective_ _brother_ to take care of him," Kanda pointed out.

Allen was about to reply, but Lavi grabbed his sleeve and shook his head. Allen frowned at his brother, but bit back his comment. Instead, he took a deep breath and repeated, "How could you possibly have had it worse?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Kanda replied, his voice low, almost inaudible.

"Lavi'd rather not talk about his problems, either, but we told you," Allen said, calmly.

Kanda shook his head. "No, _you_ told me. There's a big difference."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Lavi."

_"Don't bring me into this,"_ Lavi mumbled.

"Look," Kanda snapped, "if you really are so God damn curious, ask Lenalee."

"Ask me what?" Lenalee asked from the doorway. She tilted her head, staring from Allen's angry face to Kanda's.

"Nothing," Kanda grumbled. He walked past Lenalee. "I'm heading back home. You three join me whenever."

Lavi stumbled after Kanda.

"Loyal, that one," Lenalee observed.

Allen crossed his arms and pouted. "I don't know _what_ he sees in that loser!"

"Love at first sight?" Lenalee suggested.

"Probably. Shimmers are known for that."

"What about you?"

"Not quite so common in normal merpeople, but it happens from time to time."

Lenalee smiled and took Allen's hand. "Well? Shall we head back before Kanda stabs Lavi?"6 she asked playfully.

Allen blinked and then caught the innuendo. "I... vote we take our time..."

* * *

**1 **_There are actual pearls that are called "Mermaid's Tears."_

**2 Reference to "Dirty Little Secrets." _I love Roger. :-)_**

**3 This is the actual ending of the Hans Christian Anderson version of "The Little Mermaid" (the original). Disney, well, Disney-fied it.**_ They take out all the good stuff._

**4 At least Kanda admits his problem. :)**_ Now if he was just smart enough to figure out that he figured out Lavi and Allen..._

**5 Kiss the Girl is property of Disney. I do not own it. I wish I did 'cause then I'd be a millionaire.**

**6 Yes, it was meant in the dirty sense.**

_Yay! I get to make the first comment! I'm so excited! TWILIGHT!!!!_

**For those of you out of the loop, we're going to see Twilight at the theaters.**

_Again!_

**For you, maybe. Anywho, thanks for reading. See you all next chapter.**

_Bye bye!_


	6. Tears of the Past

"So what happened that made Kanda happy as a clam?" Allen asked, flopping into an armchair.

"You realize that saying means that Kanda's extremely happy," Lenalee pointed out, sitting in the chair across from him.

"Have you ever met a clam? They're far from happy. They eat dirt and get eaten. That's all there is to their life."  
Lenalee rolled her eyes. She got a little more comfy in her chair and leaned closer so she wouldn't have to talk as loudly. "Kanda... has had a very hard life."

"That's not an excuse to make everyone else's life hard."

Lenalee sighed. "I know, but Kanda..." she paused, trying to pick the right words. "Kanda witnessed his parents' assassination. He's never been the same since."

"Yeah? Well, Lavi saw our mom and brother get eaten by a shark and had to suffer through our father blaming him for it for years. I still think he still holds it against Lavi, actually..."

Lenalee shook her head. "You don't understand. From what you've told me, merpeople are a little more used to death than we humans are. To us, it's the end of the world if someone close to us, like our parents or even our..." she trailed off, searching for a word.

"Lovers?" Allen suggested.

"Yes," Lenalee muttered, bright red, "_lovers_. Anyway, Kanda was seven when his parents were killed..." and she started telling the story.

* * *

Lavi opened the door to Kanda's room. He clicked on the light and sat down on Kanda's bed, waiting for him to come back so he could thank him for earlier. He didn't remember falling asleep.

Something soft covered Lavi, making him sit up with a jolt. He stared around wildly, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was only Kanda. _Kanda!_

"What, you want to say something?" Kanda asked. "Look, just lay back down and go to sleep."

Lavi shook his head and hugged Kanda. _Thank you for earlier,_ he tried to say.

Somehow, Kanda understood the gesture. "You're thanking me for earlier, right?" He smiled when Lavi nodded against him. "You know you don't have to."

Lavi pressed his face against Kanda's chest and shook his head. He _wanted_ to thank Kanda. If Kanda hadn't been with him, he probably would have been a lot worse.

"Lavi," Kanda muttered, stroking Lavi's hair, "you don't have to thank me. I didn't do much of anything. Well, I was a jerk, but that's not something to thank someone for."**1**

Lavi looked up at Kanda and smiled. At least he admitted to it. He frowned when something on Kanda's wrist seemed strange and took Kanda's hand—the one he'd been petting him with—and looked at the wrist.

Kanda jerked his hand away, but Lavi held firm. "I got hurt when I was little and they had to operate," Kanda said sheepishly as Lavi stared at the scars.

Lavi looked at him. _Right. I'm not that stupid._ If it had been because of an operation, the scars would go lengthwise. These were horizontal running across his arm for about four centimeters and ended with a bunch crossing over each other at his wrist.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Kanda stated more than asked. He tried to pull his hand away again, but Lavi wouldn't let go. "You know, you're pretty strong," he grunted, still trying to get his arm away from Lavi.

Lavi traced the scars with a finger, then stared into Kanda's eyes. _Tell me what really happened, _he was trying to say. He mouthed the words, even though he knew no sound would come out.

Kanda grimaced at the touch. "Just let go, Lavi. They're just scars." He sighed when Lavi shook his head again. "They're nothing at all. Absolutely nothing." He tried to use his other hand to pry away Lavi's fingers. That didn't work. Lavi just grabbed his other wrist, yanked up the sleeve, and stared at another batch of scars. "Er... Miranda's cat got me..."

_You've got to be kidding me,_ Lavi thought as he stared accusingly into Kanda's face. _You really think I'll buy that lame excuse?_

Kanda could tell Lavi didn't believe him. "Lulubelle's an evil cat. I swear she's out to get me," he said, hoping to convince him with this final lame excuse. Of course it didn't work.

Lavi grabbed Kanda's other arm. _Surgery on this arm and cat attack on this arm. Huh, they look exactly the same._ He raised an eyebrow at Kanda.

"God damn it, Lavi! I said they're nothing, so they're nothing!" Lavi didn't flinch at the harsh words. Kanda couldn't look Lavi in the eye anymore. He turned his head away and stared at the wall. "Che. Fine, don't believe me."

Lavi lifted one of the wrists up and kissed the scars gently. Kanda twitched his hand and stroked Lavi's cheek, surprising Lavi. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you."

Lavi grinned triumphantly so Kanda couldn't see and hopped onto the bed. He sat cross-legged, and watched Kanda carefully, donning a serious expression as he waited for the truth.

Kanda sat down next to Lavi. "A little over ten years ago, I watched my parents' murder. The guy came out of nowhere. He killed my mother first, and then when my dad tried to fight him off and take away his weapon, he killed him too. The guards made it just in time to save me, but it was too late for them..." He balled his hands into fists.

Lavi watched as Kanda's fists turned pale and started shaking. He placed a steady hand on top, hoping the gesture would comfort Kanda, if only a little.

Kanda sighed, and his fists loosened.**2** "Anyway, I guess I went into a bit of shock. I don't really remember what happened after that. The nurse gave me some kind of medicine to calm me down, and, well... I kind of took too much..." He heard a gasp from Lavi. Kanda dared a glance and could see the surprise in his face. "Yeah, that was everyone else's reaction, too. They decided it was an accident—that in my little kid brain, I figured that if a little bit made me feel better, a lot would make me feel a lot better. Truth be told, I did that on purpose."

Lavi took Kanda's hand in his and laid it on his lap. He traced the scars with his fingers and felt the hand go completely limp. He looked up at Kanda, waiting for him to continue.

"After that, they decided I should get away for a bit until I forgot what happened—fat chance that would happen, but they thought it was a good idea. Krory and Miranda—you've met them, I think—shipped me off to Lenalee and her brother's castle." Kanda sighed. "They told Komui, Lenalee's brother and the king of her country, about the incident with the medicine, but he thought it was just an accident and swore he'd make sure I didn't take too much there. Of course, he wasn't watching for anything else like he should have."

_The scars,_ Lavi thought, still running his fingers along the lines. It was starting to make sense now. All the pieces were fitting into place.

"I found out that if I caused myself physical pain, then it took my mind off of the pain I was feeling from my parents. Eventually, just biting my fingers or closing my hands in doors wasn't enough.**3** I started trying to find other ways. The scars are from my last attempt... Lenalee stopped me before I could..." Kanda's voice broke off.

Lavi reached up and stroked Kanda's cheek. He didn't have to guess what he'd been doing. _It's all right,_ he mouthed.

Kanda blinked back the tears. "Lenalee found me with the knife in my room," he said in barely a whisper. "I'd already done a lot of damage, and I was about to... finish things, I guess. When she stopped me..." Kanda shook his head, but continued anyway. "There was a lot of blood everywhere. I think I passed out from the blood loss. When I woke up, Lenalee was still there with the blood on her, so I was only out a few hours at the most. I was all bandaged up and Lenalee swore that if I ever did something that stupid again, she'd lock me up in the dungeon." He let out a hollow laugh at the thought of her empty threat.

Lavi wiped away the tear rolling down Kanda's cheek. _It's all right. Everything's all right now._

"I bet you're thinking I'm pretty pathetic," Kanda commented. "I'm still a mess because of it. I try to avoid feeling anything because if I try, I just feel the pain again..."

Lavi understood. He understood completely. He'd felt the same after his mother and brother, but he didn't deny the pain. He'd become numb to it, unlike Kanda who tried to avoid it.

Slowly, gently, Lavi pulled Kanda into a hug, a soft expression on his face. He ran his fingers through Kanda's hair.

"You know," Kanda said weakly, "my mother always held me like this too..." He wrapped his arms around Lavi's middle and buried his face against Lavi's chest. A few more moments, and Kanda was fast asleep.

* * *

Kanda stirred. Something felt off. He opened his eyes and sat up, escaping the warm arms around him. He stared around a moment, trying to recall where he was and what was happening. Then he saw Lavi and frowned. _He's still here?_

Lavi was sitting up against the headboard of Kanda's bed, snoring lightly. Blushing, Kanda remembered exactly what had happened earlier. He ruffled his hair in embarrassed frustration. _I can't believe I said all that!_

He heard a muffled sob and looked up. Another pearl was rolling down Lavi's cheek. Gently, he slipped Lavi under the covers and laid his head on the pillow. _I guess it's too late to tell him to go back to his own room,_ Kanda thought with a sigh as he settled himself next to Lavi. _Oh well, it's only for tonight._

* * *

Birds were chirping loudly outside the window. Kanda groaned and tried to roll over, but something stopped him. Something warm, breathing, and heavy. He cracked open an eye and stared at Lavi who was sleeping with his face against Kanda's chest and an arm draped lazily across Kanda's stomach. That wasn't what alarmed Kanda, though. What alarmed him was that his arm was around Lavi's shoulders, keeping him close against him.

He heard a knock at the door. "Your Majesty," came Miranda's voice, "are you awake yet? Miss Lenalee's inquiring about your absence at breakfast."

_Crap!_ "I'm... uh... I just got out of the bath," Kanda said lamely. He tried to shift away from Lavi, but Lavi held firm. Just to make it worse, Lavi rubbed his cheek against Kanda's chest and hugged him tighter.

"Are you decent?" Miranda asked. "I need to clean—"

"No. Go away."

There was a brief pause on the other side of the door, then, "All right, I'll go wake up Mr. Lavi. He wasn't at breakfast either."

"Shit," he mumbled.

"Did you say something, Your Majesty?"

"I said go clean Lenalee's room! She was saying it was a mess!"

"I already did, Your Majesty."

"Then clean Allen's!"

"The only thing out of place were some clothes on the floor."

Kanda cast around his mind for something else for Miranda to do so he and Lavi wouldn't be caught. "Go clean Tatl and Tael's room!"**4**

"Your Majesty, are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Yes! You're fired!"

The statement backfired completely. Miranda opened the door and stared at Kanda, who was hiding under the covers with Lavi still clinging to him. "Your Majesty, you know just as well as I do that you wouldn't fire... Did you grow an extra pair of legs?"

"Yes," Kanda said bluntly. He'd pulled the covers over Lavi, but of course Lavi's feet had to poke out the bottom. "Now go away."

Miranda raised an eyebrow. "What are you hiding?" she asked, coming closer. She grabbed the sheets and yanked them off of Kanda. Her eyes widened momentarily as she saw Lavi clinging to Kanda, but then Miranda breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they were both fully clothed. "Should I ask?"

"No. Just get him off me."

Lavi snuggled closer because of the loss of the blankets, trying to stay warm. He sighed happily and rubbed his cheek against Kanda again. _I love you..._ he thought dreamily.

"I think he looks rather comfortable, though," Miranda said in amusement.

"Just hurry up and help me!"

"Say please."

"Damn it, woman! Help me!"

Miranda put her hands on her hips and glared. "That's not please, nor is it polite."

"I don't need your God damn lecture right now," Kanda growled. "I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh," Miranda said with a smirk.

"Not what you think!" Kanda snapped.

"I'm a grown woman, I know exactly what guys do in bathrooms."

"Yeah, they pee. Now get him off me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Miranda said. She shook Lavi's shoulder. "Mr. Lavi, Mr. Lavi... Wake up, Mr. Lavi."

It was a futile attempt. Lavi just swatted her hand away and snuggled closer.

"Either he's doing this on purpose, or he's not waking up any time soon." Miranda sighed and continued poking him.

"Damn it, Lavi! Get up!" Kanda shouted, making Lavi jump. Lavi blinked a few times, surprised, then frowned, a little upset. "Sorry, but I really need the bathroom," Kanda said before getting up.

"Have fun," Miranda said sweetly.

Kanda responded to her teasing by slamming the door hard enough to make the walls shake.

Lavi didn't get it. He cocked his head to the side and then looked at Miranda.**5**

"You'll understand when your older," Miranda said, patting his head. "Boy, it's been a while since I've seen an innocent like you." She laughed and left Lavi alone.

_I still don't get it,_ Lavi thought. He waited for Kanda to get out of the bathroom and grinned at him.

"You didn't get a word Miranda said, did you?" Kanda asked. He sighed when Lavi nodded. "God, you're more innocent than Krory."

Lavi tilted his head and shrugged. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know what Miranda's innuendos were supposed to mean. He tilted his head to the other side when he noticed Kanda's face was flushed, which made Kanda turn even redder.

"I'm not explaining it," Kanda said, turning away. "If you want to know, ask someone else."

Lavi raised an eyebrow and pointed at his throat. _I can't talk, remember?_

Kanda dug through one of his desk drawers and tossed a notebook and pen to Lavi. "Use that. I assume you can write."

_Do fish swim in the water?_ Lavi scribbled and showed Kanda proudly.

"Great. Now I can understand you," Kanda said, patting Lavi on the head. "Anyway, go back to your room and get changed. I'll see you later."

Lavi nodded and, clutching the notebook and pen to his chest, skipped back to his room. Kanda had given him a gift! Kanda had given _him_ a gift! That was a good sign, right? Right?

Kanda watched him skip away. _It was just a notebook_, he thought, fingering the necklace in his pocket. He'd bought it for Lavi, but now he wasn't quite so sure he should give it to him. He knew Lavi would love it, but Kanda wasn't sure if Lavi would take it the right way. Kanda had meant it as simply a gift—a thank you—but he got the feeling Lavi would think it a proposal to marriage or something along those lines.**6 **Shrugging, Kanda decided to figure that out another day.

* * *

**1 At least he admits it.**

**2**_ Lavi can calm the beast. :-)_

**3 _Closing your hands in doors is painful. We've done it enough on accident to know._**

**4 Names are "borrowed" from LoZ: Majora's mask. The owners of the name will appear later.**

**5 Leigha just realized that merpeople can't have sex like people. _I feel sorry for them! They're like salmon!_**

**6** _You don't know how right you are._

**Well, there's the chapter! We now know the source of Kanda's personality problem. (nods)**

_I hate school._

**We all do. But, on a lighter note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!! :)**

_And a Merry Christmas!_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	7. One Step at a Time

Kanda sighed and leaned back in his chair. This was Lenalee's third tirade since they'd gone to the market two weeks before.

"Kanda, are you listening to me?" Lenalee snapped. "Lavi obviously likes you! You shouldn't leave him without an answer like this!"

"You know just as well as I do how the kingdom would react to the idea of my... preferences," Kanda replied, resting his head on his fist. "It's not going to work out, no matter what I say."

"So you're just going to ignore how you feel?"

"I'm going to pretend I never felt anything," Kanda replied coldly. "It's for the good of everyone in the kingdom."

"What about your happiness? You can't just ignore what you want in life! That's just not fair!" Lenalee put her hands on her hips and sighed. She was getting nowhere, just like with her other rants.

"Life isn't fair," Kanda replied. "If it were, my parents would still be alive and people wouldn't frown upon people like me and Lavi."

"You're gonna break Lavi's heart," Lenalee warned.

Kanda flinched. The words were worse than a slap to the face. "I know, but... it just wouldn't work out."

"How do you know that? You can't know if you don't try!" Lenalee said desperately. "You could have a secret relationship. It's like Napoleon and his cat fetish! No one found out until _after_ he died."

"Stop making things up, Lenalee."

"Okay, it might have been a dog fetish, but still, he—"

"Lenalee, just stop. You're not helping." Kanda stood up. "Now, if you're done yelling at me, I have things I need to do."

"Kanda!" Lenalee called. Kanda stopped, his hand still resting on the doorknob. "Lavi..." she hesitated, remembering what Allen had told her. "If you don't tell him now, you might never have the chance to... He'll disappear."

Kanda froze. It was just like the story. "He won't disappear. People don't just disappear. He'll probably just go back to where he came from."

"Do you even _know_ where they came from?" Lenalee snapped.

Kanda thought for a moment. No, he didn't know where Lavi had come from. He just sort of... dropped into his life one day, like a gift from the heavens. He shook his head. "If he... _loved_ me like you say he does, he wouldn't just give up on me and leave."

"That's the thing!" Lenalee shouted. "He loves you enough to let you go! He loves you enough to leave and never come back, if that's what you wanted. Even if it made him miserable, he'd do whatever it took to make you happy."

"That's not..." Kanda sighed. He knew it was true—he couldn't deny that. He shook his head and walked out the door.

"Kanda—" but Kanda closed the door and didn't hear the rest of Lenalee's words.

* * *

_Cute!!!!!_ Lavi cried. He was in a room he'd never noticed before, and two fuzzy little creatures were staring up at him. Well, they weren't very little. They looked fat—very fat. Slowly, Lavi reached out to touch the creatures, like he was in a trance.

He froze. The memory of the cat was still fresh in his mind. _You guys wouldn't attack me, would you?_ he asked them silently. The animals twitched their noses in response.

"They won't bite."

Lavi spun around and breathed a sigh of relief. Kanda was leaning against the wall, watching him. "That's Tatl," Kanda said as he pointed at the white animal with long ears, "and Tael," and he pointed at the squat brown creature with small ears.

Lavi smiled. He pulled out his notebook and scribbled, _They're so cute!_

Kanda frowned. "They aren't cute," he said defensively. "They're well-trained attack pets and will come to my aid at any time."

Lavi snorted and scribbled again. _They look too fat and spoiled for that._

"I blame Lenalee," Kanda said quickly. He frowned when Lavi saw through the transparent lie. "Fine, I'm the one who spoiled them. Just don't tell the maids. They still think it's Lenalee feeding them all the time."

Lavi laughed a silent laugh and patted Tatl on the head between its long ears. He paused long enough to write, _What kind of animals are they?_ and went back to petting the white critter.

"Tatl's a rabbit and Tael's a guinea pig," Kanda said, scooping up Tael and petting it as it squeaked at him.

_Why are they called Tatl and Tael?_ Lavi wrote in his messy scrawl.

Kanda placed the guinea pig next to the rabbit and pulled away Lavi's hand. "Watch."

Lavi did as he was told. After a few moments of waiting, the guinea pig finally moved. It smacked the rabbit, who hopped up to Lavi and Kanda. Tatl twitched its nose and looked up at them with large, black eyes.

"_That's_ why they're Tatl and Tael. They tell on each other all the time." Kanda scooped up Tatl and stroked its ears lovingly. "Been that way since I got them."

Lavi laughed and reached out to hold the rabbit. Kanda placed the creature gently in Lavi's hands and smiled as Lavi hugged the rabbit. _I wish it could stay like this forever..._ Kanda thought wistfully as he continued to watch. _I wish I could just tell Lavi..._ He shook his head. It wasn't possible. They couldn't be together. It just couldn't happen. He was king of the land. He was supposed to marry Lenalee. He couldn't be in love with Lavi. He just couldn't.

Lavi glanced up at tilted his head at Kanda, just like the rabbit in his arms. Under normal circumstances, Kanda would have laughed. He wasn't feeling like it now, though.

Frowning, Lavi shifted the fat rabbit in his arms so he could cradle it in one arm and touched Kanda's cheek with his free hand. Kanda smiled and pressed Lavi's hand against his cheek. "I'm fine. Just thinking a little."

_About what?_ Lavi wanted to ask, but his notebook was on the floor, and he didn't want to take his hand away from Kanda's cheek, especially because Kanda was holding it there.

"I'm fine," Kanda repeated. "You're worrying too much." Slowly, he moved Lavi's hand away from his cheek to his lips and kissed his fingers. "Thank you, though. I really don't deserve all of your attention like this."

Lavi's eyes widened. He dropped the rabbit in surprise, causing it to land with an indignant _thud_.

The rabbit glared and hopped to Kanda, the reason Lavi had dropped him, and hopped full force into Kanda's chest.**1**

"Gack!" Kanda cried, falling under the rabbit. "Get off!" He glared at the rabbit glaring in his face. "Don't even think about it," he growled dangerously.

The door swung open, revealing Krory. "What's going on in here?!" he asked, but stopped when he saw the rabbit sitting on him. He blushed at his apparent mistake and cleared his throat. "Oh, uh... I'm sorry, Your Majesty... I thought..."

"You thought what?" Kanda asked. Lavi removed the rabbit, and he sat up. He frowned at Tatl, who was snuggling up against Lavi's chest. "Oh, don't you act innocent," he growled at the rabbit. He raised an eyebrow. _Did that rabbit just stick its tongue out at me?_ He shook his head, clearing the silly thought from his mind. "Krory, what stupid idea did you come up with?"

Krory's face turned an even darker shade of red. "I... er... thought Mr. Lavi was... attacking you?"

"When did your innocent mind turn sour?" Kanda asked, brushing invisible dust off his clothes.

"T-that's not what I meant, Your Majesty!" Krory cried indignantly. It was obvious that _that_ was exactly what he'd meant.

Lavi tilted his head in confusion. He glanced down at the rabbit, who looked back with bright eyes. _Do you know what they're talking about?_ The rabbit only twitched its nose.

"Anyway, I have to get some work done." Kanda turned to Lavi. "You can stay here as long as you like."

Lavi set the rabbit down on the ground and followed Kanda out the room. He was curious about what Kanda did when he wasn't with him. He stopped walking when Kanda stopped and tilted his head.

"Stop following me," Kanda grumbled. He knew Lavi would get bored with the formalities of being in court. Plus, Kanda's entourage might not appreciate the mute hanging around while they babbled about legislation or arguments or who-killed-who.**2** "Trust me, you won't want to sit through this. It's really boring."

_Court?_ Lavi scribbled into his notebook.

"Yes. There's a lot of official business to slog through, and I don't think you'll like it."

_I've sat through this crap a bunch of times,_ Lavi replied in his messy scrawl. _Imagining them with flounder heads makes it a lot more entertaining._

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "Sadly, I have to actually pay attention." He paused a moment and then asked, "And why were you in court?"

_I'm a prince,_ Lavi scribbled.

"Right."

_You don't believe me!_

"If you were a prince, then your brother would be royalty too," Kanda explained, striding away, "and you both wouldn't be here without some kind of official guard."

_You know that weird fluffball that's always sitting on Allen's head? _Lavi wrote as he walked next to Kanda. _That's our protection._

"That _thing_ can't do anything."

_You've never been bitten by him. Or stabbed. He was a blowfish once._

"A bird can't be a blowfish," Kanda pointed out as they walked. "Animals don't change species like that."

_What's a species?_

"It's... uh... what something is—you know what, never mind. It's not important."

_You don't know what it is._

"No. I just can't figure out how to explain it to an idiot."

_Oh, you mean yourself?_ Lavi scribbled angrily and stomped away.

_Well, that got rid of him pretty quick,_ Kanda thought as he watched him leave.

Unknown to Kanda, Roger and Toma were watching Lavi as well. "Our plan starts in three... two... one. Hey Lavi!"

Lavi looked up and waved at Roger and Toma. He was happy to see them. They would help him forget about Kanda being an idiot to him.

"Kanda ditch ya?" Roger asked. They laughed when Lavi nodded. "Don't worry, we can keep ya entertained," he said with a wink.

* * *

Kanda was getting sick of the court. All the nobles were asking when the wedding would be as they waited for the next order of business to be stated by Krory. He didn't want to have to sit through all of their silly small talk and the latest gossip. Lenalee was better with this sort of thing than he was. Personally, he would prefer make all the decisions himself and not put up with all the gibber-jabber.

Boredom was starting to set in as he made yet another decision. While the court applauded excitedly at yet another decision they agreed with, Kanda stared out the window. He smiled when he saw Lavi running around outside in the courtyard, but the smile soon vanished when he saw Roger and Toma playing tag with him. _What are they doing?_

"Your Majesty, what is your decision?"

Kanda snapped out of his daze. "Could you repeat that?" he asked. A few ladies of the court giggled.

"W-well," Krory said, a little surprised by the fact Kanda was spacing out, "the new law to be signed by Your Majesty reads 'Potatoes are not to be sold between the hours of six o'clock AM and eight o'clock AM.' What is your ruling?"

Kanda stared at his assistant in disbelief. "Are you really asking me this?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Krory said, holding back a laugh. "It is part of the 'Potato Commerce Act' proposed by the—"

"I don't care who proposed it. That's just plain idiocy. If someone _wants_ to buy potatoes at six in the morning, let them."

The ladies of the court giggled again at his comments. Kanda took a deep breath and was somehow able to resist the urge to kick the noblewomen out of the room. Instead, he said curtly, "Is there something funny?"

The women were silenced and for the rest of the meeting glared coldly at their king for his rudeness.

Krory moved on to the next order of business, but Kanda was only half listening. He continued to watch Lavi, Roger, and Toma play every childish game from hide-and-seek to leap frog to follow the leader and back. Kanda listened enough to know whether to agree or disagree with whatever was at hand. He glanced away from the window a moment to read something one of the nobles had given him. By the time that was all settled, it seemed that the three outside had moved onto a card game of some sort.

Kanda also noticed that Toma and Roger had their jackets and shoes off. _Is it that hot out?_ he wondered until they revealed their hands. Lavi frowned and snapped his fingers and shrugged off his jacket. Then it clicked in his brain. _Strip Poker?!_

"Your Majesty."

Kanda turned back to his court. "Please repeat," he said quickly.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Krory said with a nod. "This is about the Scott case. There was an appeal, and the sentence was lightened from a stoning to a public hanging."

"Why does it?" Kanda said angrily. "He's going to die either way. I approved the stoning, so I obviously thought he deserved his punishment."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," Krory stuttered.

Kanda's eyes snapped back to the scene outside the window. He saw Toma hand Roger a card behind his back. Then the hands were shown and Lavi stood. He'd already lost the shoes, so he untucked his shirt and started unbuttoning it.

"Is there anything else?" Kanda snapped urgently.

"No, Your Majesty."

Kanda jumped off his throne and rushed to the double doors. "Court dismissed," he called over his shoulder as he bolted out of the room. He took the stairs two at a time as he ran, cursing himself mentally that he couldn't go faster.

At last he reached the door leading to the courtyard. He wrenched it open and was momentarily blinded by the sunlight. He blinked to adjust to the light as he stumbled to Lavi, who had his shirt unbuttoned.

Lavi pulled the shirt off his shoulders and was surprised when it got caught and wouldn't go farther. He turned his head to see what was happening and turned bright red when he saw it was Kanda, panting heavily from his sprint.

"If you take this off, I'll kill you," Kanda grunted.

Lavi's embarrassment dissipated at Kanda's command. Still angry, he tried to pull the back of his shirt out of Kanda's grip so he could take it off. Kanda held tighter and tried to push it back onto Lavi's shoulders.

"This is very entertaining," Toma commented.

"Yeah, but shouldn't it be the other way around?" Roger asked his friend.

Lavi stopped fighting Kanda a moment to look at them curiously. Kanda, meanwhile, took the chance to force the shirt back on Lavi. He glared at his two guards and growled, "You both are dead for cheating Lavi at strip poker."

"He's too good!" Roger said in his defense. "He keeps getting the best hands. They only way we _can_ win is if we cheat! He has the luck of the gods or something!"

"There's no way he always gets the best..."

"Watch," Toma said, shuffling the deck. He dealt the cards and watched as Lavi simply laid out a royal flush. "See?"

"You still shouldn't be doing this outside. If you morons are going to exercise your idiocy, at least do it in a more private area."

"Oh, like you and Lavi did last night?" Roger said, a perverted grin on his face. "I heard from Miranda what was goin' on."

"S-she had the wrong idea!" Kanda shouted.

"Right," Roger said suggestively. "You were just playin' some strip poker without the cards then."

"N-no!"

"He's blushing. He's probably planning for tonight," Toma said equally suggestively.

"Fuck you!" Kanda snapped. He scooped up Lavi's shoes and jacket in one hand and grabbed Lavi's hand in the other. "Come on, Lavi. We're leaving."

A few of his servants stopped and watched Kanda drag the practically half-naked Lavi behind him through the halls toward his room. _Allen, where are you?_ Lavi shouted mentally as Kanda stormed through the castle. _Allen? ALLEN! "GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!!!!!!!! HELP!!!!"_

Allen burst out a door down the hall. "Lavi? Kanda? What's—" He stopped when he saw Lavi's shirt unbuttoned and Kanda carrying shoes and a jacket. "—going on? Am I missing something?"

_"Kanda won't let me play poker with Toma and Roger, and now he's mad at me for some reason."_

Allen slapped his forehead. "Kanda, let me guess. Strip poker?" He groaned when Kanda confirmed his fears. "Lavi, never _ever_ agree to play strip poker. You'll just end up being naked in front of a bunch of guys who just want to laugh at you."

"I'm going to guess they were up to more than that," Kanda said, his voice hard in his anger.

_"Roger and Toma wouldn't do anything,"_ Lavi said innocently.

"Lavi, you are a moron. Why on Earth would you undress in front of a couple guys you don't even like? Kanda, you are an even bigger moron for not letting Lavi at least put his clothes back on before you march him through the halls. Your gossip queen maids are going to spread this around town, you realize." Allen crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Kanda released Lavi's hand and dropped Lavi's things. "I... have to go." He ran off, his face bright red at his stupid mistake.

_"Kanda!"_ Lavi glared at his brother. _"Why'd you do that? I thought we were actually getting somewhere!"_

"You are," Allen said smugly. "Go after him. After you put your shoes back on and button up your shirt," he added before Lavi could take off as well.

Lavi shoved his shoes on his feet and buttoned his shirt, not caring that the buttons weren't in the proper holes. He sprinted to catch up with Kanda, who had slowed his pace and turned at the sound of his footsteps.

That's when Lavi tripped and fell into Kanda. Lavi's shoulders smacked into Kanda's thigh, causing them both to fall into a tangled heap on the floor.

Kanda rubbed the back of his head. "Are you all..." his voice trailed off once he saw where Lavi's head was, "right...?" He didn't have time to feel embarrassed about Lavi's head being so close to _there_, though.**3**

Lavi was off him in a split second and holding his knee, pearls rolling down his cheeks again in pain. Kanda sat up quickly and pulled Lavi's hands away. He saw the torn skin and blood through the tear in his pants. "It's probably not too bad," Kanda said comfortingly. "Let's go to my room and clean it up, okay?"

Lavi shook his head, flinging his pearl-tears against the walls. He'd always been taught to stay put when bleeding so swimming wouldn't kick up the blood and reach a shark faster. Kanda rolled his eyes and scooped Lavi up into his arms. Lavi tried to pull away from Kanda, tried to get back to his spot on the ground, but gave up when Kanda held firm.

"What, afraid a shark will get you?" Kanda teased.

Lavi's eye widened. _He knows?_ He touched his eye patch and looked down at the ground as it slowly moved in time with Kanda's steps. _Does he know... what I am...? No... Allen told him before... about Mom... and Suman..._

In truth, Kanda wasn't thinking about that at all. He had said that to see how Lavi would react, to try and prove his theory that Lavi wasn't actually _human._ Of course, Lavi's touching his eye patch reminded him that he had, in fact, been attacked by a shark and that his parent and brother had been killed. _Stupid!_ he cried, mentally smacking his head against a wall.

They reached Kanda's room. Gently, Kanda set Lavi down on his bed. "Stay here. I'll be right back." Kanda went to the bathroom, grabbed a damp rag, and returned. He rolled up Lavi's pant leg and dabbed at it to clean the blood off. Once he was done, he smiled. "See? It's not all that bad. You just scraped it enough to..." He leaned closer. Something wasn't quite right about it.

The wound was closing before his eyes. Lavi realized what Kanda staring at and covered it with his hands. "Don't do that!" Kanda snapped, pulling his hand away. "You'll get it bleeding... again...?" His eyes widened as the last of the scratch healed completely.

Confused, Kanda looked up at Lavi. The redhead was averting his gaze, staring at anything in the room except for Kanda. "Care to explain this one?" he asked. Lavi tilted his head. "I assume your playing dumb means you aren't going to tell me anything." Lavi nodded at this statement.

"Fine, I get it," Kanda grumbled, "you don't trust me." He was amused when Lavi shook his head furiously and pointed at his throat. "You can't tell me because you can't talk?" Lavi shook his head. _Where is his notebook,_ Kanda thought. "Then why can't you tell me?"

Lavi stood up and snatched a paper and pen from Kanda's desk. _Can't tell you. It won't let me._

"It?" Kanda mumbled as he read the note. "What do you mean by it?" But Lavi shook his head. "Ah, that's the secret." Lavi nodded. "Fair enough." He smiled and patted Lavi's head. "Hey, how about you stay in my room tonight? I... uh... hit my head when you knocked us over, and I'd rather not be alone with a head injury." Once again, he was mentally banging his head against a wall. _He'll never buy it!_

But Lavi did. His eyes widened and he reached around to touch the nonexistent bump. _There isn't anything there!_ he thought, but didn't let his realization show on his face. He simply nodded.

_He bought it?!_ Kanda thought incredulously. He coughed, instantly masking his surprise. "Um... Anyway, we should get to dinner." He took Lavi's hand. "Shall we?"

* * *

After dinner, Lavi stood to follow Kanda like he always did but was stopped by Lenalee. "Kanda, can I borrow Lavi for a little bit? I need to talk to him about something really important."

Kanda shrugged, trying to act casual. "Sure. It wasn't like I was planning anything."

Lenalee raised an eyebrow and took Lavi to her room. "Do you want to... Shine with Kanda?" she asked once they were there.

Lavi nodded furiously. Of course he wanted to! _Wait... I don't have an apple!_

"You don't need an apple to Shine with Kanda here," Lenalee said calmly. It was as if she read his mind. "People around here don't have that tradition, especially not Gay men." She smiled at Lavi's surprise. "You can give him an apple after you and Kanda Shine. So, here's what you do."**4**

* * *

"Good night, Your Majesty," Toma said when Kanda turned the doorknob to his room.

"Don't stay up too late," Roger added with a wink.

_What are they talking about?_ Kanda wondered when he opened the door. He froze when he saw the reason for their jokes. He felt them push him in and heard the door behind him click shut. "Lavi... what are you...?"

Kanda's head spun. Lavi was on his bed on his knees and leaning forward on his hands. The first two buttons on his shirt were undone. His head was tilted down, but he was looking up at Kanda through his bangs. The most noticeable thing, though, were the fluffy white bunny ears he was wearing.

It didn't help that there were two sides to his mind having a war about this. The one side was screaming, "Yuu, don't do this. Wait until marriage. I'm sure there's a reason for him to be dressed in this way. Maybe... he just felt like wearing rabbit ears to bed tonight."

"Maybe he wants you to fuck him up the ass," commented the other side.

Even though it was corny and tacky, Kanda could swear they were the little angel and devil version of him whispering in his ears. What was worse, he didn't know which side to go with.

"You know you want him," the devil said. "He's ripe for the picking. Look! He's just sitting there, staring up at you with all that trust and..._ love_." He hissed the last part.

"That's why you can't do it!" the angel cried. "He trusts and loves you! If you do this, then you'll destroy that trust!"

"He's just asking for it!" the devil cry. "Seriously, just look at those ears! He has 'em pinned in so they won't fall off! Come on! Just fuck him already! You've been wanting it for what, the last two weeks? Just do it already!"**5**

The angel gasped. "Don't! It might ruin everything! He probably doesn't know what's going on! He doesn't understand what he's doing!"

"Well, then that Lenalee knows how to get a guy to look sexy and not know it."

_Lenalee!_ Kanda realized. _Lenalee set this up!_

"Yeah, and it'd be a shame to waste her handiwork," the devil pointed out.

"You'll scare the poor dear!" the angel shouted.

Kanda sighed, defeated. "I'm... going to the bathroom. Lavi, button up the shirt and get those stupid ears off."

"That's better, but I still don't approve!" the angel said.

"Well, I guess guilty self-pleasure's still involved, so I'm good. Just make sure to imagine Lavi naked when ya do it, 'kay?"**6**

Kanda closed the bathroom door behind him and leaned against it. _I think my brain just exploded... That, or I'm going nuts,_ he thought as he reached into his pants.

* * *

Finally, Kanda left the bathroom. "Lavi, do you need help?"

Lavi tugged on the ears again. There were pins scattered on the sheets, but still the ears wouldn't come off. He looked up at Kanda helplessly.

Kanda looked. "Lenalee made pretty damn sure these weren't coming off," he commented as he pulled out every pin he saw. Once he couldn't find any others, Kanda tried again at pulling the ears off.

Lavi hit the bed and the bed squeaked loudly as he tried to get away from Kanda. "Damn it, Lavi! Stop moving!"

Toma and Roger's heads shot up outside the door. They glanced at each other, nodded, and put their ears against the door to hear all the juicy action.

There was more squeaking and pounding. "It's almost out! Stop struggling."

Their eyes widened. So they really _were_ doing it! _"Awesome,"_ Roger mouthed to Toma, who nodded.

"Damn it, Lavi! I'm almost finished! Get your ass back here."

"I wonder if His Majesty's... _violent_ in bed," Toma muttered, a small trickle of blood escaping his nose. Roger was the same way.

There was more squeaking and more pounding noises. "Lavi, I know it hurts, but it's almost over," Kanda said almost sweetly.

"Woah... That's the quickest round of sex I've ever heard," Roger commented.

"What are you two listening to?"

Toma and Roger signaled for Moore to lean her ear against the door and listen as well. She shrugged and did so. Her eyes widened as she heard the noises from inside.

"Lavi, I'm almost done. If you have to, just hold onto the pillows."

"Holy..." Moor whispered. "They're..."

"Fucking," Toma and Roger finished for her.

"And you two get off on this?"

"How else are we supposed to blackmail His Majesty?" they asked in unison.

"There must be another explanation!"

The door opened, and all three guards scrambled to get a good look at the scene of the crime. The bed was thoroughly messed up, but Lavi wasn't on it. He was on the floor gripping his head, fully clothed.

"Give these back to Lenalee and tell her if she pulls a stunt like this again that I will personally make sure she wears them for the next month." Kanda slammed the door before they couldn't make any comments.

"Well, there goes your blackmail," Moore said smugly.

"Uppuppup," Toma said quickly. "Lavi's still _in_ there. He's spending the night. In my opinion, that's blackmail worthy."

Moor rolled her eyes and snatched the ears from Roger. "I'm returning these," she said. "You guys feel free to get horny listening to Kanda and Lavi if you want."

"We are not getting horny!" the two snapped as she walked away laughing.

* * *

Kanda crawled into his bed and signaled for Lavi to join him. Lavi's eyes lit up and he snuggled close to Kanda's chest. Kanda sighed and wrapped an arm around Lavi's shoulders. "Good night, Rabbit. Sweet dreams."

* * *

**1 Yes, Kanda was serious when he said they were well-trained attack pets.**

**2 Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference right there with the "who-killed-who."**

**3**_ If you do not know where Lavi's head is, you are sexual-knowledge deprived._ **Or you've never read a Yaoi before.**

**4 Wow, Lenalee can be very dirty when she wants to be.**

**5 **_I'm laughing at how the devil's right for once and the angel's wrong!_ **Irony...? Oh, and the time frame's accurate. Lavi met Kanda seventeen days before.**

**6** **_The angel and devil are based off of the angels and devils talking to us at the moment about how this scene would end._ I decided to screw 'em both over.** _I agreed._

**Thanks for reading!**

_There's your fluff!_

**And it's ready for the New Year!**

_See ya next chapter!_


	8. Tears for You

Lavi continued to stay in Kanda's room after that. Kanda no longer made up excuses for Lavi to stay, nor did he have to. The guards stopped questioning it, as did Krory and Miranda. In fact, everyone in the castle thought they made a charming couple, even if it would never go public.

Lenalee never tried anything to get Lavi and Kanda together after the rabbit ear incident. She figured she'd done enough damage with that, and even if she wanted to glue the ears in Lavi's hair again, the ears had mysteriously disappeared.**1** Not that she needed to orchestrate the next awkward moment between the two. The weather did it for her.

The next week, a heat wave struck. Everyone in the castle was baking. Even the cool, stone walls didn't stop the heat from penetrating the rooms and hallways. To keep the suffering down to a minimum, Kanda allowed the maids and guards to forsake their armor and uniforms for cooler, lighter clothing. Still, everyone was miserable in the heat.

Especially two people. Allen now claimed that he and Lavi were from a colder country and therefore weren't used to the heat. Kanda, feeling sorry for Lavi rather than Allen, allowed them to use his private pool in the basement of the castle. It was the coolest room in the castle, especially because the pool was filled with seawater. Usually, Kanda had it heated slightly, but the cold water was welcomed in this heat.**2**

Today, Lavi was splashing around, quite happy with the water. Even if the salt stung his eyes now and the water felt colder than he'd remembered, Lavi loved being back in the sea.

Allen, meanwhile, was simply leaning on the side of the pool, watching Kanda watch Lavi. "You know you can come in too. Lavi won't mind."

"I don't like swimming," Kanda lied.

"Then why do you have a pool in your basement?"

Kanda grunted in response and looked away.

"You keep thinking of Lavi in the bunny ears," Allen suggested with an evil grin.

Kanda felt his face turn red. "N-no!" he managed to stammer. Now that Allen had said something, he couldn't stop picturing Lavi with the fuzzy white ears. "How'd you know about that, anyway?"

Allen shrugged. "Lenalee told me."

Kanda glared at the white-haired boy, but didn't say anything else. Giving Allen more ammunition to use against him wasn't a good idea, especially when Lavi was barely seven feet away.

Allen climbed out of the pool and grabbed robe to pull over his swimsuit. "Well, whatever. I'm out of here."

"Nice job," Lenalee commented when he walked out of the pool area.

Allen smirked. "Oh, it's so much fun to pick on Kanda. If you need me to do anything else, just ask."

Meanwhile, Kanda couldn't look at Lavi. He couldn't get the image of Lavi in rabbit ears out of his head. Every time he attempted to watch Lavi like before, he saw them. He stood up and reached for his robe. He felt cold water splash onto his back and spun around. Lavi had a grin on his face that screamed "I did it!"

"That's not funny," Kanda said. "The water's way too cold."

Lavi pouted and nodded his head like he did any other time he wanted to apologize. He reached his hand out.

Kanda took Lavi by the wrist to pull him out of the water. Lavi grinned again and launched himself from the wall. Kanda, who was still holding onto the tricky redhead, fell in with a huge splash.

A few moments later, Kanda's head broke the surface of the water. After coughing and spluttering a bit, the king stared around the pool for Lavi. Every time he caught a glimpse of him, the slippery swimmer would escape his gaze.

"Lavi, stop joking around," Kanda said, his eyes still trying to keep up. "You have to come up for air sometime."

Kanda felt something rush past his leg and heard a small splash behind him. _Aha! Got you now!_ Kanda turned as quickly as the water would allow.

Lavi sprung from below the water's surface, wrapped his arms around Kanda, and kissed him hard on the lips. He then pulled away, his lungs screaming from the lack of oxygen. Then, as Kanda reached for him, Lavi dived below the surface again.

"Damn it, Lavi!" Kanda shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. "Get your ass back here!"

Lavi's head peeked above the surface on the other side of the pool.

Kanda sighed and came closer. "You didn't have to drag me in the pool like that if you wanted to play. You could've asked."

Lavi blew bubbles in mild frustration. Kanda could be a real idiot sometimes. He swam over to the tiny built-in waterfall and sat below it, the cool water splashing over him. Maybe if he looked sexy, he could get Kanda's attention. He'd seen the mermaids in the bay do it all the time.

It took a few minutes to remember what the mermaids always did. Heart pounding, Lavi started with his "sexiness" attempt. He turned so he was angled away from Kanda slightly and ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced quickly at Kanda to see if he got his attention.

He had, but for the wrong reason. Kanda was laughing at him! Angrily, Lavi dived back in the water.

"Ack! Lavi! I'm sorry!" Kanda said, searching the water again. "You just looked silly doing that!"

Lavi resurfaced again a few feet from Kanda. His cold stare made Kanda worry. "Look, is there anything I can do to make you not hate me?"

Lavi shook his head.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

Again, Lavi dived.

"Yeow!" Kanda cried, jumping back. He sat on the side of the pool and looked at his ankle. "You bit me! Why'd you do that?"

Lavi, meanwhile, was sitting again under the waterfall. Well, behind was a better word. Kanda couldn't tell by the distorted image how upset he was. He looked almost like something out of a dream, though, the way he was sitting and absentmindedly playing with his hair.

Kanda came closer and wrapped his arms around Lavi from behind. His lips were right next to Lavi's ear as he said in a low, seductive tone, "Please forgive me?"

Lavi turned his head so that he could see Kanda. He opened his mouth, remembered he couldn't speak, and snapped it shut again.

Kanda decided to try again. "Please forgive me, Lavi?"

All Lavi could do was nod. He felt Kanda's breath, warm on his neck and shoulder as Kanda continued holding him. He shivered.

"Ah, I suppose the water is a little cold," Kanda said, releasing Lavi. "Well? Shall we get out now?"

Lavi nodded again and allowed Kanda to lead him out of the pool area to a changing room.

"Dry off and we'll get changed."

Then Lavi did something so shocking Kanda could only stare. Lavi dropped his swim trunks right in front of him. Of course, he didn't seem to notice the effect it had on Kanda. He simply grabbed a towel, dried off, and then put on a robe.

"Dude, that was _hot!_" the devil on Kanda's shoulder commented. "That was even better than the bunny ears!"

_Oh God, not again._ Kanda put a hand on his forehead to check for a fever. He must be delusional from a fever because he sure as hell was not crazy.

"Oh, and if you're waiting for the angel," the devil continued, "he's a bit... tied up at the moment. Poor fool's locked in a closet." The devil laughed. "Anywho, you know you wanna rape Lavi till he can't sit down for weeks. Go for it. He's practically inviting you to, _again._"

Kanda had the urge to bash his head against a wall. He really was losing it.

"Hey, we're only here 'cause you can't make up your mind," the devil said with a shrug. "You're leanin' towards what I want ya to do, so I locked the other guy up so he can't try to convince you otherwise. Now, just do it! If things don't work out, they don't work out, but at least ya had the time of yer life fucking him."

Kanda was sorely tempted—he really was. Lavi was rubbing his face against the soft sleeve of his robe and petting the fabric happily. The redhead was completely unaware of the internal conflict he'd just started. He also was completely unaware that Kanda had finally given in to the temptation and was slowly approaching.

The angel finally popped up on Kanda's shoulder, holding a piece of rope out threateningly. "Devil! Next time, I'm tying you up and throwing you into the _ocean_!!!"

"Not now," the devil said, waving the angel away. "Things are finally getting good!"

The angel gasped as he realized what was happening. "Kanda! Don't you even dare!" He grabbed Kanda's ear and shouted into it. "You'll ruin everything!"

Kanda brushed away the figment of his imagination and grabbed Lavi's shoulders. Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled the shoulders of Lavi's robe off him. He then pulled Lavi closer and kissed him hard on the lips.

Lavi's eyes widened at the sudden actions, but he didn't fight back. He had no idea what was happening. Kanda had been so quiet before, and now he was all over him, stripping him. Once the initial shock was over, though, Lavi kissed back.

A small gasp escaped Lavi's lips as Kanda's hands trailed lower. Lavi clung to Kanda, not wanted the caress to stop.**3** He kissed Kanda harder, pulling their bodies closer.

Then it was all over. Kanda pulled away, shocked by his own actions.**4** How could he do this? How could he have allowed himself to do this?

"Aw, you ruined it," the devil commented. "How could you?"

The angel was on Kanda's other shoulder, holding a large chunk of hair he'd pulled out of Kanda's scalp. "Easily."

Kanda felt the heat rise to his face. "I... er..." He fled the room. _Stupid!_ he thought as he ran. _I shouldn't have! Oh, God, now everything's ruined._

Lavi, meanwhile, was standing in the changing room, dumbstruck. He put a finger to his lips, remembering the pressure and warmth of Kanda's lips against his. He opened his mouth to try and call after Kanda, but no sound came out.

_But... He kissed me... That was enough, right? That means he's in love with me, right?_ But if that was the case, he'd be able to talk. He didn't understand. How could he and Kanda get so close to each other and give over to their feelings and it not be love? How was it possible?

Lavi didn't know about lust. It was a human emotion, not something merpeople dealt with, and especially not when it came to mates. He didn't know that Kanda had simply _wanted_ him—not loved him—at that moment.

Still confused, Lavi finished dressing and left the changing room.

* * *

"Your Majesty!" Krory shook the doorknob to Kanda's private study. "Your Majesty, everyone is waiting for you in court!" He was half-sobbing at this point. "Your Highness, it's too hot to have to deal with your mood swings. Please, just open the door."

"Stand aside," Miranda said. She unlocked the door and it swung open.

Kanda was at his desk, head resting in his arms. He didn't respond when they opened the door, nor did he move to tell them to leave.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?" Krory moved a little closer. Kanda was hiding his face in his arms, so he couldn't tell if the king was upset or sick or just asleep.

A grunt was the only answer Krory got. "Your Majesty, if you don't feel well, we can always just cancel court for today."

"He's not sick," Miranda said, leaning against the door, "or not in the physical sense, at least."

Kanda grunted again. He reached for a book, slid it closer to Krory, and pointed at one of the articles, all without lifting his head.

Confused, Krory read. "Schizophrenia can be temporary in the case when one has a life-altering decision to make and is undecided," the book read. "In cases like these, the subject can hear two voices working against each other—the preconscious and the subconscious. More recent studies of these cases report that subjects tend to hear an "angel-like" persona and a "devil-like" persona."**5**

It didn't make sense to Krory. "You think... you're schizophrenic?" Kanda nodded without lifting his head. "Your Majesty, your mental health is nothing to joke about!"

Kanda finally lifted his head. He looked tired and depressed and worried, but there was a hint of something manic in his eyes. This almost convinced Krory that what Kanda thought was true. "I'm not joking," he said coldly.

"Self-diagnosis is almost always wrong," Krory pointed out. "Why don't we have a real psychologist take a look at you?"

"Oh yeah," Kanda said sarcastically, "the kingdom would _love_ to hear that their king's talking to someone who helps nut-jobs."

Krory slapped his forehead and turned to Miranda for help. The maid came closer and placed a hand on Kanda's shoulder. "You Highness," she said sweetly, "I think we need to talk. Krory," she turned to the assistant, "Please leave."

"What?"

She pointed at Krory. "You." She pointed to the door. "Door. Now. Is that so hard to understand?"

It _was_ hard to understand, or at least for Krory. It wasn't so much the leaving as the _why_ he had to leave. One look from Miranda, though, and he was out the door.

Once he was gone, Miranda knelt next to Kanda so she could look him in the eye. "All right, what's really wrong, Your Majesty?" Kanda only grunted in response.

That wasn't the answer Miranda was hoping for. She thought for a moment about what could possibly be bothering her king, and then smiled. "You like Mr. Lavi."

Kanda's head shot up and he glared at Miranda. She continued like he hadn't moved. "It's so obvious. You did drag him around the castle half-naked. Oh, and we can't forget that whole incident with the rabbit ears."

Kanda groaned and banged his head on the desk. "Don't remind me."

Miranda had hit the nail on the head. "If you like him, maybe you should just tell him rather than suffer in silence."

"God, you sound just like Lenalee."

"We women are always right."

Kanda turned his head. He looked pitiful and lost, much like he had after his parents' deaths. Miranda hated seeing him this way. "I don't even know if I like Lavi that way," he said. "And what would my parents think? They'd be ashamed of a son like me..."

"Your Majesty! You shouldn't talk this way!" Miranda scolded. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of his chair. "I know for a fact that your parents would be behind you one-hundred percent. I can prove it, too!"

"Where are we going?" Kanda asked as she dragged him out of the room.

Miranda didn't respond. She just continued dragging Kanda behind her.

They reached the maids quarters in a matter of minutes, despite it being on the other side of the castle. "Stay here," Miranda said before walking into her room.

A few maids passed by and giggled at Kanda. He glared at the gaggle of girls, and they rushed to leave. Kanda was frightening when angry.

Miranda came out of her room holding an envelope in her hand. She held it out for Kanda to take. "This is a letter from your mother. She told me to give it to you when the time came, and I think now qualifies as that time."

Kanda snatched the letter and opened the envelope. It was definitely his mother's handwriting inside, along with a picture of him and his parents. He didn't look too long at the old photograph, though. Instead, he read her message to him.

_My dearest son,_

_If you are reading this, I am no longer with you. I am truly sorry that I can't be with you to help you through this time of trial. As you grow, you'll have to deal with many troubling times. This is just one of those hurdles, and I'm sure you can make it over just like all the others. This time, though, you'll need help. You need that special someone to help you through it. You can't do everything yourself, Yuu, and you know it._

_I know falling in love is hard, especially when that love is against everyone's better judgment. Sometimes, things just fall that way, and you'll find yourself lost and confused with nowhere to turn. It's times like these when it's hardest to follow your own path, but to be able to love someone with your entire being is a one-in-a-million chance. Love is like magic: if you don't believe in it, it won't happen. Even if everyone is against it, listen to your heart to find the answers. I know your heart can lead you to trouble and it can make you feel like you're going crazy, but just listen to it. Your heart knows what's best for you. And to be able walk down a path with your special someone takes a lot of courage and a lot of hope._

_Your father and I are behind your decision of who you want to spend your life with. Even if that person is a man (and I say the redhead's a good catch), we give you our blessings. The people of the kingdom might not accept your choice right away, but they will in time. You are the king and your people will stand behind your decisions._

_And once again, my dearest son, your father and I love you more than anything in this world and the next, and there's nothing in any world you could do that could make us hate you. Be happy, my son._

_Love,_

_Mom and Dad_

Kanda stared at the letter a moment, his vision blurring from tears. He stubbornly rubbed them away. "How'd she know about all this?" he asked once he knew his voice wouldn't shake.

"Your mother sometimes saw the future in dreams," Miranda explained. "When she foresaw all this, we convinced her to write a letter and tell you what she knew you needed to hear."

Kanda looked at the letter in his hands again. "So she... knew about all this..."

"She knew about what your preferences would be before you were even born. She knew about you having trouble with your decisions now soon after."

There was a brief pause as Kanda looked the letter over again. "_The redhead's a good catch_," he read aloud. "Wait, she couldn't have meant..."

"Why do you think no one questioned Lavi being in your room all the time?"

A blush spread across Kanda's face. "Y-you guys... knew?"

"We had a feeling that Mr. Lavi was the redhead your mother saw in her vision. That's why no one said anything when he showed up out nowhere like he did. Everyone working here thought your mother sent him to make sure her vision came true."

"So you think he's an angel from heaven too."

Miranda smiled. "If you think your mother sent him from heaven, that's your business. Personally, I think your mother's spirit just guided him here." She then shrugged. "Anyway, your parents never minded your sexual preferences. If you want to tell Lavi how you feel, go for it. No one is going to care. Besides," she added softly, "it's spread around town that you like Mr. Lavi."

"What?" Kanda said, a little louder than he meant. He took a deep breath and said in a lower voice, "Who spread it?"

"Roger."

"What do you think we should write on his headstone?"

"Your Majesty, king's shouldn't murder their subjects."

"I wonder if I could count this as treason..."

"Your Majesty..."

"All right, I won't murder him. I'll just cut his tongue out."

Miranda's glare told him to stop joking. He folded the note and pocketed it with a sigh. "Kidding, just kidding. You really need to learn how to take a joke."

"Go tell Mr. Lavi how you feel about him," Miranda said, pointing down the hallway. "Tell him you like him or if you're afraid of commitment or whatever you need to tell him so he doesn't keep expecting something."

"Yes, ma'am," Kanda said, defeated.

He found Lavi a little later, sitting in the shade of a tree. The sun was setting, so it wasn't quite as hot as earlier, but the air was still steamy and made Kanda start sweating. Or maybe it was the nerves surfacing because of what he was about to do.

Kanda took a deep breath. Of course, that just made him more nervous because the short pause gave him time to think of all the ways this could possibly go wrong. Irritated, he forced the bad thoughts back.

Lavi looked up and grinned at Kanda. It was as if what happened earlier hadn't happened.

"Er... Lavi... I need to talk to you," Kanda said. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks—or maybe it was just sunburn coming on.

Lavi nodded and stood. He took Kanda's hand in his. He walked a few steps, stopped, and looked at Kanda, as if asking something.

"You want me to follow you?"

Lavi nodded and tugged his hand again. This time, Kanda did walk with Lavi, squeezing his hand as he did so.

They reached the beach in a matter of minutes. They paused, the high tide splashing over their feet up to their ankles.

"This is what you wanted me to see?" Kanda asked, his eyes still on the horizon. The light of the setting sun cascaded over the water, waves twinkling and sparkling as they rose and crashed onto the shore. The scene relaxed him somewhat, but he felt Lavi tug his arm again.

They continued down the beach until they reached a small cove. Kanda gulped as he recognized it.

Rainbow Cove had many legends, the most popular being that two lovers had been married there against their parents' will. It was said that if you exchanged vows inside, the lovers would give you their blessings and help you reach the happily ever after they never had.

Lavi led him inside. It was as if he knew exactly what Kanda wanted to tell him. For a moment, Kanda wondered if Lenalee had told Lavi the legend of this particular cove. Lavi was from far away. He wouldn't know about the cove's story unless someone had told him.

Kanda didn't have much time to wonder, though. Lavi had stopped in a large almost circular part of the cove that opened up to the ocean. The light of the sun filtered in, and the walls suddenly shone a rainbow of different colors as well as colors Kanda had no name for.

"Do you know the story of this cove?" Kanda asked, turning from the stunning walls to face Lavi.

Lavi shook his head. He had no idea there was a story to this cave. He sat down on the stone floor and dipped his bare feet into the surf. He patted the damp rock next to him.

Kanda stayed standing, shifting from one foot to the other. _Calm down. We're just talking like always. Nothing big's going to happen here... Except that I'm going to tell him I love him._ Kanda pushed the thought away.

"Once upon a time, there were two people who fell in love. Their families were against it, but they couldn't live without each other. So, they came here and got married. The families found out and interrupted the wedding. Rather than be parted, the two lovers decided to be joined in the afterlife. They jumped into the sea and drowned." He paused reverently. Then he added, "They say if you swear your love to someone here, they'll help you find happiness."

Lavi stared up at Kanda, wide-eyed. He stood, but the movement was too quick. He slipped on the algae covered rocks. He would have fallen into the ocean, but Kanda caught his arm. He scrambled to hold on to Kanda.

"Careful," Kanda said. "I don't want you disappearing on me."

Lavi glanced up at Kanda through his bangs. It was now or never. He pulled back from Kanda and went over to one of the glittering walls. He chipped at one of the twinkling lights until the stone at last fell into his hand. He returned to Kanda and pushed the stone into his hands.

Kanda looked at the sparkling stone a moment, confused. He looked up and asked, "Why are you giving me—"

Lavi forced his lips against Kanda's in a passionate kiss. Kanda was too stunned to react. He didn't kiss back; he didn't pull him closer; he didn't do anything. His mind was doing summersaults, though.

He faintly heard the devil on his shoulder cheering and yelling at the angel, "Ha! Take that! I was right!"

Their lips parted after what felt like only seconds. Lavi stared into Kanda's eyes. Kanda was lost in the sparkling pool of green and couldn't give Lavi the response he wanted to so badly.

_I love you,_ Kanda wanted to say. _I want to hold you and keep you with me forever._ The words wouldn't come. He opened his mouth to say them, but no sound came out.

Lavi's eye was sparkling even more as a pearly tear pooled on the edge. Kanda had to say something now!

"Lavi, I..." What was he supposed to say again? What _could_ he say? Lavi had summed up both their feelings in the kiss. What could he say to show Lavi just how much he loved him?

"Hurry," the angel said in his gentle voice. "If you don't say something now, you may never get the chance again."

Kanda's expression turned solemn and he touched Lavi's cheek. "Lavi," he started again. "I..."

Lavi's eye widened. He pushed Kanda away and ran from the cove, leaving a trail of pearls behind him.

Kanda sat up in the shallow water. He reached out a hand after Lavi, but let it fall back into the waves with a splash. The look in Lavi's eye had told him everything. _I'm so stupid!_

He hit the water with his fist, and the water splashed his face, hiding the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. He'd screwed up. He'd screwed up so badly, Lavi wouldn't ever want to see him ever again.

He opened his fist and stared at the large gem Lavi had given him. His hand balled into a fist around it. _No, I'm not giving up that easily!_

He ran through the cove and back to the castle. All of his servants stared as he ran past, soaked through, with pity. No one dared try to stop him.

No one, that is, except Krory.

"Damn it, Krory!" Kanda shouted. "I need to talk to Lavi!"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty," Krory muttered apologetically. "There's a crisis in the eastern fief...**6** This needs your attention more than Mr. Lavi at the moment."

Kanda swore again. "Lavi needs my attention right now! This can wait!" He tried to sidestep Krory, but his assistant got in the way again. "Krory, move!"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but this needs your attention right now..." Krory muttered, eyes downcast. "There's a rebellion in the eastern fief of Sarandair. They've decided that you're waiting too long to marry and that, without an heir, the kingdom is in jeopardy."

"Give me ten fucking minutes!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but you need to prepare for the journey now. As your advisor, the only way I see to end this conflict is for you to go there and assure them that your wedding to Lenalee is coming soon and that she is already with child."

"So you want me to lie to them?" Kanda growled.

"You've been lying to everyone for years. What's one more going to do?"

"_Fine_," Kanda hissed, "but I'm not telling them that Lenalee's pregnant. I'll tell them that I will be married soon. That is all."

Krory bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Please, hurry and pack."

"Tell Miranda to pack some things," Kanda said. He pushed Krory out of his way and stomped down the hall toward Lavi's room. He could hear him sobbing on the other side of the door.

Taking a deep breath and leaning his back against the door for support, he said, "Lavi, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say to make everything right again... But... just to let you know... I'm not angry about all this, nor am I saying no right now. I have to leave for the east as soon as possible. When I return, I'll give you my answer then. Please, wait for me. Hopefully, I'll have it all sorted out in my head by then."

Kanda smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry... for not knowing what to say. I hope I'll be able to tell you when I come back." He took another deep breath. "I'm leaving something for you. You can throw it out if you want, but..." He didn't finish. He hung his gift on the doorknob and stumbled away.

* * *

Lavi cried for what felt like days. He heard Kanda come and go, heard Allen bang on the door and try to get into the locked room, heard Lenalee try to comfort him. But he simply sat there in his bed with the covers pulled around him, crying until he had no more tears to cry.

The sky was dark by the time he stopped. Lavi stared blankly at the scattered pearls around him. He picked them up and started counting.

_1,001... 1,002...1,003..._ 1,003 tears for Kanda... 1,003 tears wasted...

The door swung open, but Lavi didn't look up. He was too busy staring blankly at the pile of pearls in his lap—the pile of tears he'd wasted on Kanda.

"If you need anything, just call," Miranda whispered, closing the door.

Lavi felt the bed give way as someone sat next to him. He felt arms wrap around him, but didn't move to throw them off.

"Lavi," Lenalee said quietly, fearing that if she spoke too loud, he might shatter right there in front of her, "I'm sure it was some kind of misunderstanding. Kanda's... not very good at showing his feelings. I'm sure he's beating himself up over whatever happened. You don't need to, too."

Lavi didn't respond. He didn't shake his head, didn't nod, didn't cry... He just sat, staring at the pile of pearls in his lap.

Allen put a cool object in Lavi's hand and folded his fingers over it. "This was left on your door. I think it's from Kanda."

Lavi didn't move to see what it was Kanda had left. It was like he was petrified.

"Lavi, Kanda's ignorant. He doesn't know about apples or anything like that. Give him the benefit of the doubt. He probably didn't understand what you were giving him."

Lenalee smiled. "Kanda's not that smart. Even if you told him that you loved him, it would take him forever to figure out you meant you loved him _that_ way. Give him some time. He'll figure it out."

Finally, Lavi reacted. He looked from Lenalee's gentle smile to Allen's serious face, and then at his hand. He just stared for a long minute, then opened his fist to see the apple-encrusted necklace Kanda had bought so long ago.

Lenalee reached for the necklace and clasped it around his neck. "See? He got that just for you. It suits you."

Lavi touched the charm dangling from the necklace, then looked at the fish and apple-beads. She was right—Kanda _had_ gotten it for him. At last, he smiled slowly. Another pearly tear rolled down his cheek. _"1,004,"_ he counted, but he didn't consider the tears wasted anymore.

He leapt out of Lenalee's arms and rushed down the stairs three at a time. He burst through the castle's entry and stared around for Kanda. He spotted him just as Kanda went down a hill and out of sight.

_I'll wait for you,_ he thought, watching where Kanda had disappeared. _I'll wait for your answer.

* * *

_**1**_ (cough) Miranda took them._ **For what, we'll probably reveal later. _Much_ later.**

**2** **We're arguing about technology.** _They can't heat a pool in a castle!_ **They could if they had dug below the pool and had a furnace there.** _It's carved out of the ground so the ocean can get in! THERE CAN'T BE A HEATER!!!!!!!_ **...Well, this is an anime with giant robots running around. I think we can BS a heated pool.**_ Point taken._

**3** _Here's your fluff, people. (evil grin)_

**4** _(hides in a corner, holding up more fanfiction) Please, don't hurt us!_

**5** _**Half is right and half we made up completely.** __Thanks to me and my medical classes._

**6** **A fief is basically a county in olden times. The king ruled over the kingdom, and then a Lord ruled over each fief and kept the peace, collected taxes, etc.**

**I think our fans will kill us for this chapter...**

_I agree. That's why I'm still hiding in a corner._

**Well, thank you for reading this chapter. Next chapter will probably be the finale. What do you think, Shim?**

_Maybe... We still have a lot of ideas._

**Well, you know what lots of ideas mean.**

_**SEQUELS!!!!**_


	9. Together

"What did you do?" Cross shouted, hands around Tyki's neck. If the Shimmer said the wrong thing, Cross wouldn't hesitate to strangle him.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," the sorcerer managed to choke out. "If either party breaks the contract, that party that breaks the contract is screwed. I _can't_ tell you."

"I know they were here," Cross growled, his hands tightening.

Tyki gasped for breath. "I can't tell you! I'm liable... under the..." He couldn't get any other words out.

Cross dropped the Shimmer. Tyki held his throat and coughed. "If you can't tell me, I want you to go get them."

* * *

Lavi couldn't take the waiting. The castle seemed empty with Kanda gone, even though it was just as bursting as life as it ever was. It felt like something was missing, and Lavi knew that something was Kanda. Nothing could fill that hole where Kanda had been, and Lavi didn't even try. He pretty much stayed in his room next to the window that faced the path leading to the castle.

Allen and Lenalee stayed with Lavi most of the time, trying to keep him entertained to keep his mind off Kanda. They took the time to explain to Lavi the human ways of marriage and love, giving Lavi more hope for when Kanda returned. Still, Lavi couldn't help but stare out the window, even when they were talking. He missed Kanda, and nothing could make him forget that.

It was damp outside and the clouds were dark, threatening to drown the land with more of the rain they held. Lavi turned from the window and stared at the book in his lap without reading the words. It was a picture book from Kanda's room with beautiful illustrations of mermaids and princes, but Lavi just couldn't focus. He'd been trying to read it for the past three days, but he just couldn't look at the text for very long before he turned back to the rain-streaked window to watch for Kanda.

Sighing, he closed the book. Before he could go back to watching the window, though, he heard a shout. "His Majesty has returned!" someone—probably Miranda—shouted. "Look alive, everyone!"

Lavi's turned so fast he got whiplash. He rubbed his neck while he searched the grounds for Kanda. At first, he couldn't see anything through the glass, but then he saw a bunch of hooded figures on horses.

The world, once dull and gray to Lavi, was now full of color again as he rushed down the stairs two at a time. He almost ran over a few maids when he turned at the bottom of the staircase, but he didn't stop to apologize to the maids with his notebook. He just kept running and didn't stop until he reached the entrance.

Panting, Lavi waited for Kanda to walk through the door. He checked his neck quickly to make sure the necklace he'd received was still there—it was. His heart pounded. He could hear Kanda and his guards walking up the steps through the shower that just started.

The doors swung open. Two guards rushed in, their wet hair sticking to their faces. Behind them was Kanda, wearing his black traveling cloak with the hood up. Lavi took a few steps toward him, but stopped. Behind Kanda was another figure, this one in a deep purple cloak. Lavi tried to get a better look, but the new person's face was hidden within the hood's shadow.

Allen whispered in Lavi's ear, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Lavi hadn't heard his brother and Lenalee come up behind him. He'd been so busy trying to get a good look at the strange person that he hadn't been paying attention. Now he glanced around the filling room at all the servants offering towels to the guards and taking their cloaks.

Miranda took Kanda's cloak and held out an arm for the stranger's. The person kept his head down and he slipped out of the cloak. He turned a bit so Miranda could take it from him.

Lavi's eyes widened as he realized who it was. It was Tyki. His hair was longer now, and his skin darker, but it was definitely him.

"You!" Allen shouted, pointing at the sorcerer. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"My, that's quite a welcome," Tyki commented, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.

"And when did you start smoking?"

"I've always smoked," Tyki said, striking a match and lighting up. He puffed a few times, then said to Lavi, "You know, you're being awfully rude, staring like that. I know you don't have much to say right now, but you don't have to look at me like I swam out of pudding."**1**

A couple maids gave the man odd looks, but by then they were used to Allen using strange terms for things. They figured the man was probably from wherever the two brothers were from and didn't question it.

"You did swim out of pudding," Allen muttered. "What are you doing here?"

Kanda stepped between them. "He said he was sent by your... _father_... to act as bodyguard."

"That's total bullshit!" Allen snapped. "Our father would never send like you!"

Kanda raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you had no family."

Allen took a deep breath to give him time to weasel his way out of the mess he'd just gotten himself into. "We do. Our mother died, and our father doesn't care about us. He just wants an heir to the throne, and sadly he can't get another wife to do it for him."

Tyki smiled. "Wow, that's pretty mean. Obviously you haven't heard."

"Heard what?"

"Oh, he's holed himself up in his room. He's worried sick about both of you. Why do you think he'd swallow his pride enough to ask _me_ for help?"

"Because he couldn't get the answer out of you if you were dead?" Allen guessed.

Tyki nodded. "That, and he was afraid of the contract being automatically broken if I died."

"Contract?" Kanda repeated. "What contract?"

All present ignored him. "Did you come here to collect?" Allen asked.

"Nope. Came here for... personal reasons."

"How personal can it be?"

"It has nothing to do with you or your brother." Tyki leaned closer to Kanda and hugged his arm. The nearby guards all tensed. "It has all to do with this handsome stud here."

Lavi bristled. Tyki was after Kanda? That was what he came for? Lavi came closer and slapped Tyki as hard as he could, making the guards reach for their swords in case Tyki tried to strike back. Lavi then looked at Kanda with a hurt expression, turned on his heel, and ran.

"Lavi!" Kanda said, reaching out for him, but Tyki wouldn't let him chase after. "Let go of me."

"Not until my business with you is done," Tyki said, a bright smile on his face.

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Oh, just this and that. Trifles, really."

"Then it can wait," Kanda snapped. He wrenched his arm free and chased after the redhead. The guards stopped Tyki from following.

Kanda stopped at a split in the hallway. _Where did he go?_ he thought, staring down one hall, and then the other. _Damn it!_

"He went that way," Allen said, pointing to his right.

Kanda spun around. "When did you get here?"

"We followed you," Lenalee said simply.

"And how'd you know which way he went?" Kanda asked. "You both were behind me."

"He's my brother?" Allen said innocently.

"Isn't that always your excuse?" Kanda growled. "What exactly are you two? How can you know what Lavi's thinking? Even the closest brothers can't do that!"

Allen shook his head.

"_It_ won't let you, huh? That contract Tyki was talking about."

Allen watched Kanda with a blank expression. He couldn't agree or disagree with Kanda, as that would still be telling him something and thus breaking the contract.

"Yes," Lenalee said quickly. "Look, we'll explain everything later. Just go after him already! If you don't hurry, it'll all be over!"

The last statement overwhelmed Kanda. Over? "You mean like the story?"

"Story?" Allen repeated. "What story?"

Lenalee knew exactly what story Kanda meant. "Yes. Lavi will disappear, but not in the way you think. He'll turn back and never be able to see you again."

That was enough for Kanda. He had to hurry up and find Lavi!

Kanda ran in the direction Allen had pointed. It led to the courtyard, where he found Lavi curled under the tree on his side. His arms covered his face, but Kanda could tell by the shaking of his shoulders that Lavi was sobbing.

"Lavi," Kanda said, coming closer. Kanda knelt down and touched Lavi's shoulder.

Lavi flinched away. It hurt. It hurt so much. It felt like his heart had been torn out and Kanda and Tyki had stepped on it. He didn't want to see Kanda. He didn't want to see anyone. He just wanted to die.

"Damn it, Lavi!" Kanda snapped. He grabbed Lavi's arm roughly and forced him to sit up. The redhead had his face turned away from Kanda. Kanda grabbed his cheek and forced Lavi to look him in the eye. "Damn it, Lavi," he said, his expression softening with his voice. He kissed Lavi.

Lavi tried to pull away. Kanda had Tyki. Kanda didn't need him.

Kanda pressed his lips harder against Lavi's, and the Shimmer ceased struggling. One of Kanda's hands trailed down around Lavi's back to hold him close and the other stroked his cheek.

Finally, Kanda broke the kiss and, breathing heavily, looked Lavi in the eye. "Lavi, there's nothing going on with that wacko. He just followed me home." Lavi nodded, and Kanda continued. "There's nobody except you. You're..." Kanda took a deep breath. "You're special to me. Whatever that rock you gave me before meant, I accept it." He released Lavi and reached into his shirt. He showed the jewel Lavi had given him, now on a necklace. "Lavi, I know I don't know everything, but... Can you say something? Anything?"

Lavi shook his head. He couldn't talk because he now knew what Kanda needed to say.

Kanda sighed and placed both hands on Lavi's shoulders. "What, do I have to kiss you longer? Do I have to take you right now?"

Lavi didn't know what he meant by that, but he knew that wasn't going to give him his voice back. Again, he shook his head.

"Damn it, Lavi! I'm trying to tell you—"

"Hello!"

Kanda glared at Tyki a moment. _Of all the fucking times he could have shown up,_ he thought. He turned back to Lavi and kissed him again. He released Lavi's one shoulder and gave the one-finger salute to Tyki.

"You know..." Tyki commented, "sucking face isn't going to give him his voice back. This isn't some fairytale."

This time, Lavi flipped him off before wrapping his arms around Kanda's neck to deepen the kiss.

"Three simple words," Tyki said. "Starts with an _I_ and ends with a _you_."

Kanda broke the kiss. "Just get the fucking hell away from us."

"Language, my fine friend."

"JUST FUCK OFF!"

"I'd do that inside with Roger, thank you very much."

Kanda twitched. "You're bothering us for _that_ loser? Just get him! He's in front of the third room to the left of the stairway on the third floor."

"Thank you!" Tyki practically sang before running back into the castle. He pause only a moment to say, "I wouldn't go out there if I were you," to Allen and Lenalee.

"Why not?" Lenalee said.

"Oh, how do you humans put it...?" he wondered out loud. "Um..."

Allen blushed. "Oh, God, I did _not_ need that mental image, Lavi."

"What image?" Lenalee asked. Allen signaled for her to keep thinking, and then she too blushed. "Oh... How about we all go... that way and warn everyone to stay away from the courtyard?"

"Let's just go!" Allen said, grabbing Lenalee's wrist and running. Tyki chuckled and left for where Kanda had told him Roger was.

Meanwhile, back in the courtyard, Kanda was kissing Lavi again, not that Lavi minded, of course. Unlike the other kisses they'd shared, this one had an almost electric feel to it. It sent a tingling sensation through him. It felt so wonderful, Lavi didn't want it to stop.

He felt Kanda unbutton his shirt, which he shrugged off so he could cling to Kanda. His fingers dug into Kanda's skin, even through his shirt. He felt Kanda's tongue against his lips, and he allowed it into his mouth.

Kanda pushed Lavi over and kissed Lavi's neck. Lavi let out a silent moan and wrapped his arms tightly around Kanda's neck.

It was then that Kanda pulled away. "I think this is getting out of hand for the courtyard," he panted. When Lavi tilted his head in confused disappointment, Kanda pointed to something lower down.

_So? It's just my stick,_ Lavi thought, not quite getting it. He'd never seen it do _that_ before.

"I think we should... um..." Kanda was blushing now. "We should go to my room. That way... um... we could..."

Lavi stroked Kanda's cheek and nodded. Whatever Kanda wanted, he'd be willing to do. He loved Kanda and trusted him more than anything.

Kanda stood and helped Lavi up. He laughed at the twigs and mud that was in Lavi's hair. "Maybe we should take a bath first," he commented. He looked down at himself. He wasn't much better, but at least the rain had washed most of the dirt off him.

Lavi scooped his shirt out of the mud and sent an accusing look Kanda's way. The once white shirt was now a disgusting brown color and dripping.

"Oh, come on," Kanda said. He wasn't just impatient to continue what they'd started. He wanted to get out of there before any maids saw Lavi, muddy and... Kanda didn't want to think about it. That would just make him the same way.**2**

He pulled Lavi into the castle, not caring about the muddy footprints they left in their wake. He pulled Lavi behind him, checking around corners before they continued.

Lavi wasn't helping their sneaking around. He kept running his fingers up and down Kanda's forearm, tracing the scars again. Every time they stopped. Lavi would get really close and breath in Kanda's neck and ear. Oh, and he couldn't let Kanda forget about the reason they left the courtyard.

Kanda had no idea how, but they managed to reach his room without anyone finding them. He didn't know it, but Lenalee had told Miranda to pass on the message to desert the path from the courtyard to his room. He didn't care though. The devil was back on his shoulder, egging him on.

The angel was sitting on his other shoulder. "I give up." He stood up and walked over to the devil's side. "Just make sure to tell him you love him before you screw him. That's all I ask."

"That's fair," the devil said, patting the angel on the back. "Welcome to the club. Just you _wait_ for the induction!"

"I'm not going to like this, am I...?"

They both poofed away, much to Kanda's relief.

Kanda closed the door behind him and Lavi, then turned to Lavi. He looked the redhead up and down. _Aw, Miranda can clean the mud up later, _he decided before kissing Lavi again.

He stopped, remembering the angel's words. He took a deep breath. "Lavi... I just want to tell you before this goes any farther... I... I love you."

Lavi's eye widened. "I..." His voice was hoarse, but he managed to finish his sentence. "I love you, too." He hugged Kanda. "I love you, too!"

* * *

Allen sat bolt up right a moment. "Okay, that was weird."

"What's weird?" Lenalee asked. They were in Lenalee's room, where Allen usually didn't hear Lavi's mind when the he was in Kanda's room.

"I got this really strong perverted thought from Lavi, and then it cut off."

"Like, how perverted?" Lenalee asked.

"Like..." Allen thought a moment about how to describe it. "Like... _Shining_ perverted."

Lenalee blushed. "Oh. So they're..."

"Yeah."

"I-I see. Um..." She watched Allen stand up and move to sit next to her on the couch. "Is something wrong?" she asked, her blush not disappearing.

Allen reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, sparkling ring. "I was wondering if you'd maybe... Shine with me?" He held it out to her.

Lenalee recognized the stones that were set into the ring. They were a collection of small apples, all glittering different colors because the light hit each at a different angle. "Don't you give one Apple for each Shining?" she asked, remembering what he'd said a while before.

"Yeah, but I didn't think one itty-bitty rock would look good for a ring," Allen said.

Lenalee swallowed and took the ring from Allen. "Then... I guess we'll just have to Shine a lot, won't we?"

That surprised Allen. "Wait, you're actually _accepting_? I thought we'd wait until after we were married."

Lenalee laughed. "That obviously didn't stop Kanda and Lavi."

Allen reached out slowly so as not to scare Lenalee and brushed against her cheek. He leaned closer and kissed her. Lenalee responded with a month of built up passion. Allen picked her up and carried her to the bed.

* * *

Lavi lay panting on Kanda's bed.**3** "Wow..." he breathed. "That was a human Shining?"

Kanda was next to him, running his fingers through Lavi's hair. "If by Shining you mean sex, yeah, we had sex."

Lavi sat up, groaned, then flopped back down. "Ya know, it really hurts after..."

"You'll get used to it," Kanda said, standing up and stretching. "Come on, let's get cleaned up before I get Miranda to clean up the mud."

"But I can't even sit up," Lavi groaned.

"Then I'll just carry you to the bathroom," Kanda replied. "You don't have to really sit for what I have planned."

Lavi raised an eyebrow. "I don't think my ass can take much more," he said, or more croaked. He still wasn't used to having his voice back, and he'd made a lot of noise during the Shining.

Kanda chuckled. "All right, we'll only clean up in the bathroom. I'll let you recover before next time."

Lavi's eye lit up. "Next time?"

"We'll do it a lot if I have anything to say about it," Kanda said, lifting Lavi off the bed so he wouldn't have to limp over to the bathroom. "If we're getting married, I'd like to do it a lot after the wedding."

The smile on Lavi's face was infectious. He wrapped his arms around Kanda's neck and nuzzled it. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"I'd say you told me about... thirty-eight times while having sex."

Lavi smiled. "Well, make it thirty-nine times, 'cause I love you lots."

And, despite what Lavi had said earlier, they did have fun during their bath.

* * *

By the time they got out of Kanda's room, it was almost time for dinner, and by the time they reached the dining room, Lavi's quick healing had kicked in and he wasn't limping anymore. Lenalee and Allen weren't there for some reason.

After they finished, Lavi proposed they hunt for the two missing teens. They weren't in the library nor any of their other usual hangouts. The last place to look was Allen and Lenalee's rooms. Lenalee's was closest, so they decided to check there first.

Kanda knocked, but didn't get any answer. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we came in," he said, hand on the doorknob.

Lavi grabbed his arm. "I don't think that's a good idea. It smells kind of funky on the other side of the door."

"It's probably Lenalee's perfume," Kanda replied.

"But what if Allen and Lenalee are... _doing_ something in there."

"Nah. Lenalee's an old-fashioned girl. She wouldn't do that." He opened the door. "She's probably just taking a nap... or... something."

"Does she usually nap naked?" Lavi asked, looking at Lenalee's bare shoulders.

Lenalee was on her side, her back facing the door. The sheet covered everything except her shoulders.

"Not that I know of," Kanda said. He walked closer and was about to shake Lenalee awake when the bathroom door opened.

Allen walked out, a towel around his waist. That's when Kanda noticed that Allen's clothes were scattered on the floor along with Lenalee's.

"What are you doing here?!" Kanda shouted.

"Shhh," Allen said. "Lenalee's sleeping. She had... a little too much excitement for one day."

"What did you do to her?"

Allen cocked an eyebrow at the king. "If you can't figure it out, obviously you weren't doing the same in _your_ room with Lavi."

"Oh yeah," Lavi said sarcastically, "she's _very_ old-fashioned. So old-fashioned, she has sex before marriage."

Kanda turned around. "You know, I think I preferred you as a mute."

Lavi grinned. "That's not what you said earlier."

"That was in the heat of the moment."

Lenalee groaned quietly in her sleep and rolled over. Kanda and Lavi's eyes widened.

"Woah. She has big flowers," Lavi commented. "They can't be real..."

Allen pulled the sheet over Lenalee again so they couldn't keep gawking. He then tapped her cheek gently. "Lenalee, time to wake up."

Another groan, and then Lenalee sat up sleepily, her sheet falling and showing her flowers once more. She then noticed the two other men in her room and scrambled to cover herself with the sheet. "What are you two doing here?!" she screamed. "Can't you two knock?!"

"We did," Lavi said, "but you were out cold from Shining with Allen."

Lenalee's face turned beet red. "OUT!!!!" she shouted, grabbing the nearest thing to her, which was a book on her nightstand, and hurtling it at Kanda and Lavi.

* * *

The next day, Kanda stood on the balcony of his castle with his people in the courtyard below him. He'd decided to make the announcement as soon as possible so people would stop expecting the impossible of him. It wasn't easy, but he was sure he could tell his subjects the truth with Lavi there next to him.

There was much excited chatter among the crowd who'd gathered. Kanda knew he was about to dash their hopes about his marriage to Lenalee. He squeezed Lavi's hand a moment for support, then stepped forward.

"People of Kuni,"**4** Kanda called out to the crowd. "I regret to tell you that Lenalee Lee and I have agreed to break off our engagement."

There were gasps from the audience. Many stared at each other and whispered. Kanda already knew what they were saying.

"Instead, Lenalee is being wed to Allen... Allen..." He turned quickly to Allen. "What is your last name?" he hissed.

"Merpeople don't have last names unless they're king," Allen replied.

Kanda rolled his eyes and said, "Lenalee is being married to Allen Walker."

"Hey! You can't just give me a last name like that!" Allen said, quiet but angry.

"Fuck you."

"No thanks. That's what you have Lavi for."

Kanda choked and felt the color rise to his face. He took a deep breath to regain his composure before saying, "I will be marrying someone else as well. A..." This was the hard part. He wished Lavi could be next to him, his presence enough to calm him. "A prince from a small, faraway kingdom."

Gasps and whispers erupted from the crowd.

"A prince?"

"As in a man?"

"Our king is Gay?"

"Inconceivable!"**5**

Lavi stepped up and took Kanda's hand. He bowed to the audience, shocking everyone. "I am Prince Lavi Walker," he said awkwardly. "I would be honored if you'd all accept this arrangement. We are very happy together, and I hope you will all allow this marriage."

There was silence in the crowd. No one knew how to react. The strange prince seemed so polite and open, and it was obvious even from a distance that they loved each other. Still, it was against everything they knew for two men to be together.

Then there was applause. At first, it sounded like two people, then more joined in until everyone was cheering and clapping. Kanda smiled, relieved, and held Lavi's hand more tightly.

"We did it," he said.

"Yep. We did it," Lavi replied, squeezing Kanda's hand.

No matter what happened, good or bad, they'd be together, happily ever after.

* * *

**1** _Pudding...?_ **Yep. Pudding.**_ All right. Pudding it is._ **It's just strange enough to work.**

**2 Wow. Kanda's pretty perverted.**_ Well, he's my Kanda. ...Yes, I've fallen in love with one of our Yaoi stars..._

**3 ...Sorry we skipped the fluff.** _Ha ha. I'm not that mean, I'm sorry. I was just laughing at Sailor's comment._ **...I'm not that brave to put a ton of fluff in.** _We may be over-perverted, but we don't want to let you know how bad it is._

**4 Kuni is Japanese for "Country," as in one's nation or homeland.**

**5_ Nod to the Princess Bride._**

**Now, without further ado, let's go to our wonderful Omake Theater. :-D**

**Omake Theater _presents..._**

**Angel Gone Bad**

"Holy..." the angel muttered, sprawled out on the bed. "I never knew it be like that!"

The devil lit his cigarette. "Now you know why I encourage it so much."

The angel paused. He'd been about to grab his white robes. "You... do this every day?"

"Well, not _every_ day, but I watch it a lot."

The angel threw his old robes in the trash. "Make me evil! I wanna be a devil!" He grabbed the devil's bare shoulders. "Please?"

"First of all, no saying _please_. That's as far from evil as you can get." The devil smirked. "Second of all—"

"Make me a devil, you hunk of fucking ass!"

"That's more like it," the devil said, grinning like someone who'd just been laid. "I love it when angels talk dirty."

"Make me a fucking devil!"

The devil grinned. "Oh, we can fuck again, and then I'll set ya up with the whole devil gig."

"Oh! Can I wear black and chains? Oh wait! Tight leather! With a whip!"

"Kinky," the devil said, climbing over the angel again, "but we usually wear red."

"Screw the red, I want black leather!"

"How 'bout I screw you instead?"

"Lamest pick up line ever," the angel grumbled. "Come up with better—OW! Oh, Lucian! Oh... More! More!"

"Watch your nails, Michael," the devil said.

"If you stop, I'll... I'll..." His face was bright red from the pleasure.

"You'll what?"

The angel moaned. "I'll kill you and rape your corpse."

"Bring it."

* * *

**I find it funny that the Omake was probably more perverted than the actual fanfic...**

_Yep. That's just the way we role. Go devil!_

**Anywho, for our second bonus... Here's our dictionary of mer-to-human terms we came up with.**

**Apple**—sparkling stone merpeople use to show their love for one another.

**Diamond**—Kiss

**Finslap**—Merperson game like tennis. Rather than use rackets, though, they slap a ball made of seaweed with their tails (fins).

**Flowers**—Breasts

**Fluffball**—Bird

**Fluff**—Feathers

**Landweed**—Grass and flowers on land. ("Giant" Landweeds are trees)

**Mate**—The one a merperson has given an apple to and is sworn to forever.

**Pudding**—An imaginary part of the sea where all the scum of the earth is

**Ribbit**—Frog

**Shimmer**—Gay merperson. Called that because of the sparkling scales on their tails.

**Shining**—Merperson sex

**Sparkles**—Jewelry

**Stick**—Lavi's name for...uh...Man parts...

**Measurements are in notches (top of finger to first knuckle), hande (7 notches), ahrm (3 hands).**


End file.
